Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BTIG Research Analyst Says

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 hoisted by research analysts at BTIG Research from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. BTIG Research's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.58% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.79.

Blue Bird Trading Down 3.0%

BLBD opened at $56.24 on Tuesday. Blue Bird has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $60.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.61. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $51.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.31.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $398.01 million during 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%.Blue Bird's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Blue Bird will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.22, for a total value of $490,187.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 48,769 shares in the company, valued at $2,693,024.18. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.02, for a total value of $767,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 240,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,210,009.32. This represents a 5.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,392 shares of company stock worth $7,794,083 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 159.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew 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 buying an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 30.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the first quarter worth $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company's stock.

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.

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