Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Trading Down 6.8%

Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) were down 6.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $33.28 and last traded at $33.57. Approximately 354,147 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 496,560 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BLBD shares. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Blue Bird in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $34.58.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.11 and a 200-day moving average of $26.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.36.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $317.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $265.00 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 223.85%. Research analysts forecast that Blue Bird Co. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total value of $208,575.72. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 87,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,922,002.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Asp Bb Holdings Llc sold 4,042,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.90, for a total value of $133,003,185.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total transaction of $208,575.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 87,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,922,002.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,257,597 shares of company stock worth $139,735,973. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 8.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,028,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,304,000 after purchasing an additional 160,233 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Blue Bird by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,691,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,115,000 after buying an additional 9,996 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,405,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,904,000 after buying an additional 199,619 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 7.9% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,251,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,123,000 after acquiring an additional 91,304 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Energy Transition LLP grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 5.4% in the third quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,173,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,045,000 after acquiring an additional 60,628 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Company Profile

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.