Needham & Company LLC Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $66.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target suggests a potential upside of 56.58% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on BLBD. BTIG Research started coverage on Blue Bird in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Roth Capital downgraded Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Roth Mkm lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.64.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

BLBD opened at $42.15 on Friday. Blue Bird has a twelve month low of $23.76 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 268.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,841,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,259 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Blue Bird by 81.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 509,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,432,000 after purchasing an additional 229,004 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the second quarter worth $11,788,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 414.2% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 256,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,836,000 after buying an additional 206,966 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 26.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,084,000 after buying an additional 156,298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

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.