Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research increased their target price on Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Freedom Capital cut Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.80.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

BLBD opened at $69.33 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.84. Blue Bird has a 1-year low of $37.68 and a 1-year high of $81.51.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 3,925 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 42,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,576,709.90. This represents a 8.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 39,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,283,703.94. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,041,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,931,000 after purchasing an additional 135,562 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,048,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,257,000 after purchasing an additional 8,430 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 185.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,283,000 after purchasing an additional 601,690 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 865,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,661,000 after purchasing an additional 109,668 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 777,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,534,000 after purchasing an additional 84,488 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

About Blue Bird

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.