Blue Bird's (BLBD) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $49.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on BLBD. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.79.

Blue Bird Price Performance

BLBD stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.17. 350,837 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 639,593. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.43. Blue Bird has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $59.40. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $35.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 75.22%. The company had revenue of $358.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $348.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 976.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 128,658 shares of the company's stock worth $6,171,000 after purchasing an additional 116,707 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Blue Bird by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 641,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,345 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 4,729 shares of the company's stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 122,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,728,000 after buying an additional 53,185 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Blue Bird

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.