Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Receives Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $66.00 target price on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Capital lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their price target on Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.64.

Blue Bird Trading Up 2.9 %

BLBD stock opened at $41.45 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.56 and a 200-day moving average of $45.21. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.58. Blue Bird has a twelve month low of $24.08 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $822,244.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,832,092.83. The trade was a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 11.7% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 43,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,322,000 after acquiring an additional 4,528 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 84,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,544,000 after purchasing an additional 13,207 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter worth about $510,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 30.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 323,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,405,000 after purchasing an additional 76,036 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 81.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 509,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,432,000 after purchasing an additional 229,004 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.