Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Blue Bird Corporation's stock reached a new 12-month high of $60.89, closing recently at $60.44 with a trading volume of 75,263 shares.
• Zacks Research upgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating, while several other analysts have also revised their target prices up, indicating increasing confidence in the stock.
• In its latest earnings report, Blue Bird surpassed earnings expectations with $1.19 EPS, along with a 19.4% year-over-year revenue growth, totaling $398.01 million for the quarter.

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $60.89 and last traded at $60.44, with a volume of 75263 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on BLBD. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.79.

Blue Bird Trading Up 1.9%

The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.61. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $52.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.04.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $398.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.64 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 61.66% and a net margin of 8.16%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.21, for a total value of $532,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 48,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,564,881.63. This represents a 17.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 30,000 shares of the company'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 value of $1,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 240,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,445,960. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,392 shares of company stock worth $7,794,083. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the second quarter worth $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted 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 valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blue Bird by 30.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the first quarter worth about $102,000. 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.