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

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $64.60.

A number of analysts have weighed in on BLBD shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 7,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total value of $402,313.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 49,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,473,493.93. The trade was a 13.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 15,381 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total value of $775,510.02. Following the sale, the director owned 225,385 shares in the company, valued at $11,363,911.70. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the first quarter worth approximately $456,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 1st quarter worth approximately $329,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 270,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,765,000 after buying an additional 31,618 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Blue Bird by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 936,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,314,000 after buying an additional 112,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Blue Bird by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Down 0.5%

BLBD stock opened at $46.76 on Friday. Blue Bird has a twelve month low of $30.04 and a twelve month high of $61.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.48.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted 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 net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 62.87%. The business had revenue of $409.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $380.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ: BLBD) is a leading manufacturer of buses and mass transportation vehicles headquartered in Fort Valley, Georgia. The company’s core business encompasses the design, engineering, and production of school buses and activity buses, with a product lineup that includes conventional (Type C) models, transit-style (Type D) models and specialty configurations for special-needs and activity transport. In recent years, Blue Bird has expanded its offerings to include zero-emission electric school buses, reflecting its commitment to advanced propulsion technologies and environmental sustainability.

Established in 1927, Blue Bird has built a legacy of safety and reliability in student transportation.