Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $85.33 According to Analysts

Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $85.33.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BLBD shares. Wall Street Zen cut Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Freedom Capital upgraded Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Blue Bird from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD opened at $56.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Blue Bird has a 1-year low of $46.14 and a 1-year high of $83.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.72.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $517.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.73 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 39.97% and a net margin of 17.48%. Equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird will post 4.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, COO Jeffrey Sanfrey sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.40, for a total value of $249,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,184,686.40. This represents a 10.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the second quarter valued at approximately $207,493,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the second quarter valued at approximately $94,222,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the second quarter worth approximately $63,565,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Blue Bird by 41.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,102,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,669,000 after acquiring an additional 324,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the second quarter worth approximately $51,129,758. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird Corporation designs and manufactures school buses for use by public school districts, private schools, and other student transportation providers. The company is one of the leading independent school bus manufacturers in North America and offers vehicles intended to transport students safely and efficiently in a range of operating environments.

Blue Bird’s product portfolio includes Type A, Type C, and Type D school buses. Its buses are available with multiple powertrain options, including electric, propane, gasoline, and diesel configurations, allowing customers to select vehicles based on route requirements, infrastructure, emissions goals, and operating preferences.