Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Given "Buy" Rating at DA Davidson

Key Points

• DA Davidson reiterated its Buy rating on Blue Bird and set a $86 price target, implying about 25.7% upside from the current share price.
• Blue Bird’s latest earnings beat expectations, with $1.00 EPS versus $0.88 expected and $352.6 million in revenue versus $335.2 million expected, though revenue was still down 1.7% year over year.
• The stock was trading at $68.41, up 0.9% on the day, while analyst sentiment remains broadly positive with an average Moderate Buy rating and a $77.80 consensus target.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at DA Davidson in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $86.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson's target price would indicate a potential upside of 25.72% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.80.

Blue Bird Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:BLBD traded up $0.64 on Monday, reaching $68.41. 245,428 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 443,063. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.31 and a 200-day moving average of $56.36. Blue Bird has a 52-week low of $37.68 and a 52-week high of $81.51.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $352.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.23 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 53.68%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Blue Bird will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blue Bird news, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,283,703.94. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,041,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,931,000 after buying an additional 135,562 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 41.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,102,335 shares of the company's stock worth $62,669,000 after purchasing an additional 324,710 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,048,028 shares of the company's stock worth $49,257,000 after purchasing an additional 8,430 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 185.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company's stock worth $53,283,000 after purchasing an additional 601,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 865,136 shares of the company's stock worth $40,661,000 after purchasing an additional 109,668 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Company Profile

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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