Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

BLBD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Blue Bird Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Blue Bird stock opened at $41.54 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.62. Blue Bird has a 1-year low of $17.65 and a 1-year high of $59.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 116.23%. The company had revenue of $333.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total value of $124,923.48. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,532.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total value of $1,573,539.87. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at $14,669,801.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,532.77. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,240 shares of company stock worth $2,725,146 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter valued at about $492,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 95.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after purchasing an additional 25,563 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 11,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter valued at about $987,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 60.7% during 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 last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.