Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Raised to Buy 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 report issued on Thursday.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.21.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $32.43 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.93. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.04, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Blue Bird has a 1-year low of $30.04 and a 1-year high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. Research analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $108,565.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,379,871.68. This represents a 3.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 34.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,784,000 after buying an additional 79,129 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 37.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 4,515 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Blue Bird by 268.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,841,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,259 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 9.3% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 14.9% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

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.