Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Given New $65.00 Price Target at BTIG Research

Key Points

• BTIG Research has raised its price target for Blue Bird stock from $55.00 to $65.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.58% and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Other analysts, including Wall Street Zen and Zacks Research, have upgraded Blue Bird to "strong-buy" ratings, while the average consensus price target among analysts is currently $58.79.
• Blue Bird reported strong earnings, with a quarterly EPS of $1.19, exceeding expectations and showing a 19.4% year-over-year increase in revenue.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at BTIG Research from $55.00 to $65.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. BTIG Research's price target points to a potential upside of 8.86% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One equities 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.79.

Blue Bird Trading Down 0.7%

BLBD traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $59.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 595,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,215. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.62. Blue Bird has a fifty-two week low of $30.04 and a fifty-two week high of $60.89. The business's 50-day moving average is $52.52 and its 200-day moving average is $42.90.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 61.66% and a net margin of 8.16%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,693,024.18. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 6,709 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 14.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,392 shares of company stock valued at $7,794,083 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,511,158 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 24.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 1st quarter valued at about $8,298,000. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 7,161.9% during the 1st quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 231,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,152,000 after buying an additional 228,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 1,879.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 196,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,479,000 after buying an additional 186,799 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blue Bird Company Profile

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.