Brokerages Set Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Price Target at $75.80

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $75.80.

A number of analysts have commented on BLBD shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Freedom Capital cut Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th.

Blue Bird Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $72.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.38. Blue Bird has a 1-year low of $37.68 and a 1-year high of $81.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 53.68% and a net margin of 8.91%.The business had revenue of $352.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.23 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other news, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total value of $303,939.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 39,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,283,703.94. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 3,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total transaction of $239,346.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,255 shares in the company, valued at $2,576,709.90. This trade represents a 8.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Blue Bird by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 2,090.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 12,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the second quarter worth $3,799,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Company Profile

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ: BLBD) is a leading manufacturer of buses and mass transportation vehicles headquartered in Fort Valley, Georgia. The company’s core business encompasses the design, engineering, and production of school buses and activity buses, with a product lineup that includes conventional (Type C) models, transit-style (Type D) models and specialty configurations for special-needs and activity transport. In recent years, Blue Bird has expanded its offerings to include zero-emission electric school buses, reflecting its commitment to advanced propulsion technologies and environmental sustainability.

Established in 1927, Blue Bird has built a legacy of safety and reliability in student transportation.