Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on BLBD. Barclays upped 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. Bank of America increased their price target 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. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.17.

Blue Bird Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $52.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.61. 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 one year low of $17.59 and a one year high of $59.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.51.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $145,071.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,520,541.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total transaction of $235,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,186,636.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $145,071.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 51,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,520,541.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,240 shares of company stock worth $2,960,546 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 3.4% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Macroview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird during the second quarter valued at $29,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd bought a new position in Blue Bird during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by 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.