Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have given Blue Bird Corporation an average rating of "Moderate Buy," with one hold rating and six buy ratings from the seven research firms covering the stock.
• Recent trades by insiders, including a sale of 30,000 shares by Director Phil Horlock, indicate a decrease in their positions within the company.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.19 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.29 and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 19.4%.

Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.5833.

BLBD has been the topic of several recent research reports. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blue Bird news, Director Phil Horlock sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 240,766 shares in the company, valued at $14,445,960. The trade was a 11.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.21, for a total transaction of $532,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 48,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,564,881.63. This trade represents a 17.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 127,392 shares of company stock worth $7,342,183 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 159.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company's stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Blue Bird stock opened at $54.22 on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $56.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.64. Blue Bird has a 1 year low of $30.04 and a 1 year high of $61.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.29. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 61.66%. The business had revenue of $398.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The business's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.