Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.21.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $33.78 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.85 and a 200-day moving average of $42.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.44. Blue Bird has a twelve month low of $30.67 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.56.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. 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.