Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.21.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $822,244.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,832,092.83. This represents a 17.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. lifted its position in Blue Bird by 105.7% in the fourth quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 67,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 34,834 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,027,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Blue Bird by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,426,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,752,000 after buying an additional 25,745 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Blue Bird by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 23,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 6,600 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth approximately $255,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Stock Down 3.8 %

BLBD stock opened at $36.86 on Wednesday. Blue Bird has a one year low of $29.78 and a one year high of $59.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

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.