Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Hits New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Blue Bird Corporation shares hit a new 52-week high of $55.70 following a quarterly earnings report that exceeded expectations, with earnings per share at $1.19 compared to the estimated $0.90.
• Analysts have varied recommendations for Blue Bird, with three ratings at "hold" and six as "buy," while the average price target stands at $57.36.
• Insider transactions included CFO Razvan Radulescu selling 10,000 shares at an average price of $45.19, leading to a 14.66% decrease in his ownership of the company's stock.

Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $55.70 and last traded at $54.31, with a volume of 789994 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.14.

The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 61.66% and a net margin of 8.16%. The company had revenue of $398.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLBD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Phil Horlock sold 30,000 shares of Blue Bird 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 transaction, the director directly owned 240,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,445,960. The trade was a 11.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total transaction of $42,014.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 47,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,851,130.06. This trade represents a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,849 shares of company stock worth $3,743,780 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 162.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,840,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,977,000 after acquiring an additional 2,998,453 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 1,394.9% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,619,494 shares of the company's stock worth $52,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511,158 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 355.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 883,404 shares of the company's stock worth $34,126,000 after buying an additional 689,394 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 236.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 774,175 shares of the company's stock worth $29,906,000 after buying an additional 544,248 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,402,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,760,000 after purchasing an additional 468,936 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $43.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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.