Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $64.60.

BLBD has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Monday, November 3rd. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Blue Bird by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,267,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,849,000 after purchasing an additional 647,637 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,358,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,981,000 after buying an additional 23,569 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 13.6% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 936,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,314,000 after buying an additional 112,197 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 185.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,283,000 after buying an additional 601,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 27.9% in the second quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 823,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,525,000 after buying an additional 179,500 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of BLBD opened at $50.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.24. Blue Bird has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $61.95.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.35. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 62.87% and a net margin of 8.63%.The company had revenue of $409.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $380.37 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.