Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

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) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.79.

Blue Bird Stock Down 1.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.61. The firm's 50-day moving average is $52.87 and its 200 day moving average is $43.23. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $398.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $377.64 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 61.66%. The firm's revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 6,709 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $385,163.69. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,341,983.54. The trade was a 14.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.22, for a total transaction of $490,187.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 48,769 shares in the company, valued at $2,693,024.18. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 137,392 shares of company stock valued at $7,794,083. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Blue Bird by 58.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 49,165 shares of the company's stock worth $2,122,000 after buying an additional 18,165 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Blue Bird by 131.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,077 shares of the company's stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 2,312 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Blue Bird by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,107 shares of the company's stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its position in Blue Bird by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 123,989 shares of the company's stock worth $5,351,000 after buying an additional 4,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Blue Bird by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 29,279 shares of the company's stock worth $1,262,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is 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.