Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Short Interest Update

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,420,000 shares, a growth of 29.1% from the October 15th total of 2,650,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 668,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Blue Bird from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Roth Capital downgraded Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the president now owns 83,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,990,000. The trade was a 2.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total transaction of $1,573,539.87. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at $14,669,801.16. The trade was a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,255 shares of company stock valued at $2,580,075. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the first quarter worth $2,134,000. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Blue Bird by 33.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 63,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after buying an additional 15,900 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the third quarter worth about $987,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Blue Bird by 36.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,292,000 after acquiring an additional 505,727 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Blue Bird in the first quarter valued at about $4,000,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of BLBD traded down $1.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $36.37. 1,210,602 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 605,742. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $17.79 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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.