Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Seven analysts give Blue Bird a consensus rating of Moderate Buy (six buys, one hold) with an average 1-year price target of $67.20, and several firms recently raised targets (Needham to $78, Barclays to $55).
• Blue Bird topped expectations for the quarter, reporting $1.00 EPS vs. $0.80 expected and $333.08M in revenue (vs. $325.74M), with a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 57.6%.
• Company insiders (COO and CFO) recently sold shares—reducing their stakes by ~11.8% and 8.5%—even as institutional investors own 93.59% of the stock, with JPMorgan notably increasing its position.

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $67.20.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Thursday, February 5th.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $63.05 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.40. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $32.45 and a 52 week high of $64.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $57.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.57.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $333.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.74 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 57.60%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. Analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other news, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total value of $303,939.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 39,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,283,703.94. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 3,925 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total transaction of $239,346.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,576,709.90. The trade was a 8.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the third quarter worth $10,932,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 185.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company's stock worth $53,283,000 after buying an additional 601,690 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the third quarter worth $6,359,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 409,872 shares of the company's stock worth $19,166,000 after buying an additional 46,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 19.4% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 162,817 shares of the company's stock worth $9,370,000 after buying an additional 26,454 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird Corporation NASDAQ: BLBD is a leading manufacturer of buses and mass transportation vehicles headquartered in Fort Valley, Georgia. The company's core business encompasses the design, engineering, and production of school buses and activity buses, with a product lineup that includes conventional (Type C) models, transit-style (Type D) models and specialty configurations for special-needs and activity transport. In recent years, Blue Bird has expanded its offerings to include zero-emission electric school buses, reflecting its commitment to advanced propulsion technologies and environmental sustainability.

Established in 1927, Blue Bird has built a legacy of safety and reliability in student transportation.

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