Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Shares Down 6.8%

Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) fell 6.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $33.28 and last traded at $33.57. 354,147 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 496,560 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BLBD. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Thursday, February 29th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.58.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $34.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.57.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.52. Blue Bird had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 223.85%. The company had revenue of $317.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.00 million. Analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total value of $208,575.72. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 87,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,922,002.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total value of $208,575.72. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 87,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,922,002.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Asp Bb Holdings Llc sold 4,042,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.90, for a total transaction of $133,003,185.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,257,597 shares of company stock valued at $139,735,973. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 113.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 220.1% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 198.6% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 4,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 2,939 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 89.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 325.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 3,590 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.