Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Hits New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $30.41 and last traded at $31.92, with a volume of 963134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.21.

Blue Bird Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.63. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Insider Activity

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $108,565.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,664 shares in the company, valued at $3,379,871.68. The trade was a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,461 shares of the company's stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Blue Bird by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.