Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Lowered to “Neutral” at Roth Mkm

Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. Roth Mkm currently has $48.00 price target on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Blue Bird from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $42.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Blue Bird has a 1 year low of $17.59 and a 1 year high of $59.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.60.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 116.23%. The company had revenue of $333.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In other news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $761,227.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,971 shares in the company, valued at $15,715,507.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $761,227.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 331,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,715,507.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $120,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 83,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,990,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,240 shares of company stock valued at $2,725,146. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Macroview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Covestor Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 43.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $113,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Company Profile

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.