Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $41.16, but opened at $44.00. Blue Bird shares last traded at $41.95, with a volume of 152,525 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BLBD shares. Roth Capital downgraded Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Blue Bird Trading Up 3.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.60. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $47.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.74. 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 (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.00 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 116.23% and a net margin of 7.65%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $761,227.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 331,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,715,507.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $761,227.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,971 shares in the company, valued at $15,715,507.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 51,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,520,541.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,240 shares of company stock valued at $2,725,146. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth $2,134,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Blue Bird by 104.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 49,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 25,102 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 33.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 63,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 15,900 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Blue Bird by 36.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company's stock worth $73,292,000 after buying an additional 505,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 2,177.4% in 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

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.