StockNews.com Upgrades Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC decreased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.21.

Blue Bird Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $31.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 135,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 661,135. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.63. Blue Bird has a 1 year low of $30.04 and a 1 year high of $59.40.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Blue Bird by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,253 shares of the company's stock worth $14,784,000 after purchasing an additional 79,129 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Blue Bird by 37.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $796,000 after buying an additional 4,515 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Blue Bird by 268.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,841,745 shares of the company's stock worth $88,330,000 after buying an additional 1,341,259 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Company Profile

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.