Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Shares Down 5.6% Following Insider Selling

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) traded down 5.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $34.72 and last traded at $34.80. 197,509 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 766,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.86.

Specifically, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,379,871.68. This represents a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BLBD shares. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.21.

Blue Bird Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. Sell-side analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in Blue Bird by 162.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,840,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,977,000 after buying an additional 2,998,453 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 355.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 883,404 shares of the company's stock worth $34,126,000 after purchasing an additional 689,394 shares during the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 540.2% in the 4th quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 540,435 shares of the company's stock worth $20,877,000 after purchasing an additional 456,015 shares during the period. EVR Research LP lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 173.3% in the fourth quarter. EVR Research LP now owns 410,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,838,000 after purchasing an additional 260,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth $9,746,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.