Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Receives $58.21 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $58.21.

BLBD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $822,244.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,832,092.83. This represents a 17.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $987,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 60.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,783,000 after buying an additional 21,919 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,784,000 after buying an additional 79,129 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,504,000 after buying an additional 25,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass More Asset Management bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,376,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $34.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $30.67 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.45.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. Equities research analysts forecast that Blue Bird will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

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.