Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $85.33 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Blue Bird has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from nine analysts, with seven buys, one strong buy, and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $85.33, well above the $56.35 opening price cited.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.28 in EPS versus the $1.25 consensus and revenue of $517.16 million compared with estimates of $485.73 million.
• Institutional investors own 93.59% of Blue Bird, with major new positions from BlackRock and Jupiter Topco; meanwhile, COO Jeffrey Sanfrey sold 4,000 shares for $249,600.

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.33.

BLBD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Roth Capital set a $93.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In related news, COO Jeffrey Sanfrey sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.40, for a total value of $249,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,184,686.40. The trade was a 10.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLBD. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the second quarter valued at about $207,493,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the second quarter valued at about $94,222,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 41.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,102,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,669,000 after acquiring an additional 324,710 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the second quarter worth about $63,565,000. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 22.3% in the third quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 739,478 shares of the company's stock worth $41,041,000 after purchasing an additional 134,881 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $56.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.86, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm's 50 day moving average is $58.72 and its 200 day moving average is $63.01. Blue Bird has a 12 month low of $46.14 and a 12 month high of $83.39.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $517.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $485.73 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 39.97% and a net margin of 17.48%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Blue Bird Company Profile

Blue Bird Corporation NASDAQ: BLBD designs, manufactures, and sells school buses in North America. Its product portfolio includes Type A, Type C, and Type D school buses powered by gasoline, diesel, propane, and electric powertrains. The company also provides replacement parts and aftermarket support for its vehicles.

Founded in 1927, Blue Bird is one of the longstanding manufacturers in the school bus industry. Its buses are used by public and private schools, school districts, contractors, and other student transportation providers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.