Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on BLBD. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Blue Bird in a report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Blue Bird Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Blue Bird stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $43.12. 684,286 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 576,315. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blue Bird has a twelve month low of $17.59 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.60.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 116.23% and a net margin of 7.65%. The business had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $330.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $120,384.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 83,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,990,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $120,384.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 83,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,990,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total value of $1,573,539.87. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at $14,669,801.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,240 shares of company stock worth $2,725,146 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. Brightline Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,279,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth approximately $370,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,702,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its position in Blue Bird by 35.8% during the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 44,730 shares of the company's stock worth $1,715,000 after buying an additional 11,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Blue Bird by 2,177.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 55,342 shares of the company's stock worth $2,122,000 after buying an additional 52,912 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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