Brokerages Set Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Target Price at $58.21

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.21.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BLBD shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Blue Bird Price Performance

BLBD opened at $36.35 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.44. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $29.78 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.56.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 75.22%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $822,244.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,832,092.83. The trade was a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Blue Bird by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 13,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 2,011 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth about $2,309,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Blue Bird by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 239,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,239,000 after buying an additional 35,367 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Blue Bird by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 305,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,816,000 after buying an additional 29,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Blue Bird by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. 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.