Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on BLBD. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson upped their target price 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 upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $61.17.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $50.19 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blue Bird has a 12 month low of $17.59 and a 12 month high of $59.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.61.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $124,923.48. Following the sale, the president now owns 80,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,015,532.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,669,801.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the 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 sale, the president now directly owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,532.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,240 shares of company stock valued at $2,960,546 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Macroview Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 43.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the second quarter worth approximately $81,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the second quarter worth approximately $113,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

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.