Analysts Set Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) PT at $34.58

Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.42.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price for the company.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD opened at $34.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.10. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $17.43 and a 52 week high of $39.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $1,450,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 449,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,044,548. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the president now 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $1,450,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 449,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,044,548. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,257,597 shares of company stock worth $139,735,973. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLBD. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 18,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 220.1% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 887 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 13,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 960 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 25,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 47,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,283,000 after buying an additional 2,200 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.