Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Rating Increased 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 to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.00.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Blue Bird stock opened at $42.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.02. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $17.59 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted 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 return on equity of 116.23% and a net margin of 7.65%. The firm had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,520,541.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $120,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 83,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,990,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,240 shares of company stock worth $2,725,146. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 43.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other 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.