Analysts Set Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) PT at $58.21

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

BLBD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Craig Hallum upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price 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. Bank of America decreased their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th.

Blue Bird Stock Up 0.4 %

BLBD opened at $36.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.30. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $29.78 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 75.22%. Analysts forecast that Blue Bird will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value 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. This represents a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth approximately $987,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 60.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 21,919 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 34.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,784,000 after acquiring an additional 79,129 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 95.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,504,000 after acquiring an additional 25,563 shares during the period. Finally, Encompass More Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,376,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.