Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Shares Down 4.3% – Time to Sell?

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) shares dropped 4.3% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $37.86 and last traded at $39.39. Approximately 661,614 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 9% from the average daily volume of 605,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLBD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Roth Capital lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.64.

Blue Bird Stock Down 3.7 %

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 company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.91.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.73. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 91.12%. Sell-side analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $822,244.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 89,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,832,092.83. This represents a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth $987,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,784,000 after purchasing an additional 79,129 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 60.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 21,919 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 95.9% during 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 during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 82,681 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is 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.