Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Downgraded by Roth Capital to “Hold”

Roth Capital cut shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on BLBD. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Blue Bird from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Blue Bird Price Performance

BLBD opened at $42.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.10 and a 200-day moving average of $47.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 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.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 116.23% and a net margin of 7.65%. The firm had revenue of $333.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Blue Bird news, 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 value of $124,923.48. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Blue Bird news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total transaction of $1,573,539.87. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 directly owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,532.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,240 shares of company stock worth $2,725,146. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Macroview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Covestor Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 43.9% in 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 last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the second quarter worth about $81,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter worth about $113,000. 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.