Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Short Interest Up 29.1% in October

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) saw a significant growth in short interest in 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 daily trading volume, of 668,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD opened at $36.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.62. The business’s 50-day moving average is $45.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.40. Blue Bird has a fifty-two week low of $17.79 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. DA Davidson raised their price target 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 331,971 shares in the company, valued at $15,715,507.14. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $124,923.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 80,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,015,532.77. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,255 shares of company stock valued at $2,580,075 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the second quarter worth $29,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Blue Bird in the third quarter valued at $38,000. 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.