Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Earns "Buy" Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $66.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price points to a potential upside of 63.20% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also 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. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm downgraded Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Roth Capital lowered Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.64.

Blue Bird Trading Down 5.6 %

NASDAQ BLBD traded down $2.39 on Tuesday, reaching $40.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,637,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 618,526. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.62. Blue Bird has a fifty-two week low of $17.79 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total value of $124,923.48. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,532.77. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 268.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,841,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,259 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company's stock worth $73,292,000 after purchasing an additional 505,727 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 279.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 415,310 shares of the company's stock worth $15,587,000 after buying an additional 305,868 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Blue Bird by 81.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 509,422 shares of the company's stock worth $27,432,000 after acquiring an additional 229,004 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,788,000. 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.