Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Stock Price

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Bank of America from $66.00 to $63.50 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price points to a potential upside of 56.44% from the stock’s current price.

BLBD has been the subject of several other reports. BTIG Research started coverage on Blue Bird in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson upped their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Roth Mkm cut shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blue Bird presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.64.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $40.59 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $17.79 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $124,923.48. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 80,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,015,532.77. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,292,000 after acquiring an additional 505,727 shares during the last quarter. American International Group Inc. lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 9.5% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 13,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird during the first quarter worth $145,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth about $4,000,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Blue Bird by 23.7% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 6,088 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells school buses in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Bus and Parts. It offers Type C, Type D, and specialty buses; and alternative power options through its propane powered, gasoline powered, compressed natural gas powered, and electric powered school buses, as well as diesel engines.