Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.64.

A number of research firms have recently commented on BLBD. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday. Roth Capital downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Blue Bird in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th.

Blue Bird Trading Down 3.3 %

Blue Bird stock opened at $40.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.10. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $24.44 and a 52 week high of $59.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $822,244.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares in the company, valued at $3,832,092.83. The trade was a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth $987,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 34.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,784,000 after purchasing an additional 79,129 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 60.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 21,919 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Blue Bird by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,504,000 after purchasing an additional 25,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in Blue Bird by 360.0% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 105,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,689,000 after buying an additional 82,681 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Company Profile

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.