Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Stock Rating Lowered by Freedom Capital

Key Points

• Freedom Capital downgraded Blue Bird from strong-buy to hold, even as other analysts remained more upbeat on the stock.
• Blue Bird recently beat fiscal Q2 expectations, reporting EPS of $1.00 versus the $0.88 estimate and revenue of about $352.6 million versus the $335.2 million consensus.
• Wall Street sentiment is still fairly positive overall, with six Buy ratings and two Hold ratings and a consensus target price of $75.80; several firms also raised price targets this week.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Freedom Capital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on BLBD. Barclays lifted their price target on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.80.

Blue Bird Stock Up 0.3%

Blue Bird stock opened at $71.02 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $59.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Blue Bird has a 1-year low of $36.43 and a 1-year high of $81.51.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $352.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.23 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 53.68%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blue Bird will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 3,925 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total value of $239,346.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 42,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,576,709.90. The trade was a 8.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total transaction of $303,939.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 39,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,283,703.94. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Blue Bird by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,041,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,931,000 after acquiring an additional 135,562 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Blue Bird by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,048,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,257,000 after acquiring an additional 8,430 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Blue Bird by 185.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company's stock worth $53,283,000 after buying an additional 601,690 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Blue Bird by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 865,136 shares of the company's stock worth $40,661,000 after buying an additional 109,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 777,625 shares of the company's stock worth $36,534,000 after buying an additional 84,488 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Blue Bird

Here are the key news stories impacting Blue Bird this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blue Bird posted fiscal Q2 results that beat expectations, with earnings per share of $1.00 versus the $0.88 consensus and revenue of about $352.6 million versus estimates near $335.2 million, signaling better-than-expected demand and execution. Blue Bird earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue rose 5.9% year over year in the latest quarter, and operating cash flow increased, which supports the view that the business is growing while maintaining a solid balance sheet. Blue Bird stock rises on Q2 2026 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG and Needham both raised price targets this week and kept buy ratings, with targets moved to $80 and $86, reinforcing a positive Wall Street outlook for the stock. Analyst price target updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent analyst coverage still shows Blue Bird as a consensus “Moderate Buy,” and several earnings-call writeups point to confidence in expansion, but these are largely confirmations of the post-earnings momentum rather than new catalysts. Earnings call highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat, gross profit and diluted EPS were slightly below the prior year, and higher operating costs plus increased capital spending could temper margin expansion going forward. Blue Bird Q2 results details

Blue Bird Company Profile

Blue Bird Corporation NASDAQ: BLBD is a leading manufacturer of buses and mass transportation vehicles headquartered in Fort Valley, Georgia. The company's core business encompasses the design, engineering, and production of school buses and activity buses, with a product lineup that includes conventional (Type C) models, transit-style (Type D) models and specialty configurations for special-needs and activity transport. In recent years, Blue Bird has expanded its offerings to include zero-emission electric school buses, reflecting its commitment to advanced propulsion technologies and environmental sustainability.

Established in 1927, Blue Bird has built a legacy of safety and reliability in student transportation.

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