Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Stock Has Average Target Price of $85.33

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $85.33.

BLBD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Blue Bird from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Roth Capital set a $93.00 target price on Blue Bird in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on Blue Bird from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th.

Blue Bird Stock Down 2.4%

Blue Bird stock opened at $55.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.64. Blue Bird has a one year low of $46.14 and a one year high of $83.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.37.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $517.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.73 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 17.48% and a return on equity of 39.97%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blue Bird will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey Sanfrey sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.40, for a total transaction of $249,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,184,686.40. This trade represents a 10.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLBD. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Blue Bird by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 163,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,086,000 after buying an additional 14,298 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter valued at about $134,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Blue Bird by 53.5% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 51.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird Corporation designs and manufactures school buses for use by public school districts, private schools, and other student transportation providers. The company is one of the leading independent school bus manufacturers in North America and offers vehicles intended to transport students safely and efficiently in a range of operating environments.

Blue Bird’s product portfolio includes Type A, Type C, and Type D school buses. Its buses are available with multiple powertrain options, including electric, propane, gasoline, and diesel configurations, allowing customers to select vehicles based on route requirements, infrastructure, emissions goals, and operating preferences.