Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Blue Bird Corporation has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from eight brokerages, with six analysts recommending a buy and two a hold.
• Despite the positive outlook, Barclays lowered its price target on Blue Bird stocks from $54.00 to $50.00, while DA Davidson also decreased their target from $67.00 to $61.00.
• Insiders have sold a total of 32,149 shares valued at approximately $1.37 million over the last 90 days, indicating a decrease in their positions in the company.

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.7857.

BLBD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total transaction of $554,151.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 270,766 shares in the company, valued at $11,290,942.20. The trade was a 4.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total value of $451,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 58,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,630,193.57. This represents a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,369,666 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 159.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 440.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD opened at $43.61 on Wednesday. Blue Bird has a twelve month low of $30.04 and a twelve month high of $55.60. The stock's 50 day moving average is $42.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 64.83% and a net margin of 7.97%. The company had revenue of $358.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 3.86 earnings per share 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.

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