StockNews.com Lowers Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on BLBD. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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 raised their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $61.17.

Blue Bird Trading Down 5.1 %

Shares of Blue Bird stock opened at $48.45 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. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.61. Blue Bird has a 52-week low of $17.59 and a 52-week high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,520,541.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 directly owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,532.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $145,071.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,520,541.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,240 shares of company stock worth $2,960,546 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the first quarter worth $83,817,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 36.0% during the first 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 81.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 509,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,432,000 after buying an additional 229,004 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 279.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 415,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,587,000 after purchasing an additional 305,868 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in Blue Bird by 91.5% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 329,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,636,000 after acquiring an additional 157,468 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Blue Bird

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.