Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Stock Price Up 12% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Blue Bird Corporation's stock rose by 12% after Needham & Company upgraded its price target from $49.00 to $53.00, maintaining a buy rating on the stock.
• Blue Bird reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.19, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.90, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 19.4%.
• Insider trading activity included CFO Razvan Radulescu selling 10,000 shares, resulting in a 14.66% decrease in his ownership of the stock.

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) traded up 12% on Friday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $49.00 to $53.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Blue Bird traded as high as $56.73 and last traded at $58.59. 480,692 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 540,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.31.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.36.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total transaction of $451,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 58,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,630,193.57. This represents a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total value of $554,151.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 270,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,290,942.20. This trade represents a 4.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,149 shares of company stock worth $1,369,666. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 159.9% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 440.1% in 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 period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in Blue Bird by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blue Bird Price Performance

The business's 50 day moving average is $43.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.50.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $398.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.64 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 65.62%. The company's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

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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