Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $66.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 62.60% from the stock’s previous close.

BLBD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Roth Capital cut Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Mkm lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.64.

Blue Bird Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of BLBD opened at $40.59 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blue Bird has a twelve month low of $17.79 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total value of $124,923.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 80,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,015,532.77. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLBD. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the third quarter valued at about $987,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 505,727 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,000,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 95.9% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted 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 valued at $5,689,000 after purchasing an additional 82,681 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.