Brokerages Set Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) PT at $61.00

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Blue Bird in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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 research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target 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.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In other news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 51,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,520,541.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total value of $124,923.48. Following the transaction, the president now owns 80,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,015,532.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,520,541.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 56,240 shares of company stock valued at $2,725,146. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLBD. Macroview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Covestor Ltd purchased a new position in Blue Bird in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 43.9% during the second 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 period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Blue Bird in the second quarter worth $81,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Blue Bird in the second quarter worth $113,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD opened at $44.15 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.34. Blue Bird has a 52-week low of $17.59 and a 52-week high of $59.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.60.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.00 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 116.23% and a net margin of 7.65%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.