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

Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.79.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, May 27th.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $44.95 on Friday. Blue Bird has a fifty-two week low of $30.04 and a fifty-two week high of $55.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $41.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.88.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dunhill Financial LLC raised 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised 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 worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised 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 worth $49,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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