Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.58.

BLBD has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Blue Bird from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Blue Bird from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Blue Bird in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $2,325,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 374,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,619,172. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total transaction of $208,575.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 87,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,922,002.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $2,325,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 374,812 shares in the company, valued at $11,619,172. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,257,597 shares of company stock worth $139,735,973. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP boosted its position in Blue Bird by 113.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 220.1% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA grew its position in Blue Bird by 198.6% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 4,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 2,939 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 89.7% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 325.8% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 3,590 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Stock Down 5.0 %

NASDAQ BLBD opened at $34.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.36. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $17.37 and a 52 week high of $39.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.52. Blue Bird had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 223.85%. The company had revenue of $317.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.00 million. On average, analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

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.