Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on BLBD. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Blue Bird from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.20.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD opened at $59.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.45. Blue Bird has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $61.95.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $333.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.74 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 57.60% and a net margin of 8.65%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Phil Horlock sold 15,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total value of $775,510.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 225,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,363,911.70. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 7,984 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $2,473,493.93. This represents a 13.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PFG Advisors increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 9,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 0.7% in the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 40,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 1.0% during the second quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 34,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 4,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Key Blue Bird News

Here are the key news stories impacting Blue Bird this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — Blue Bird reported $1.00 EPS vs. ~$0.80 consensus and revenue ahead of estimates; management highlighted strong revenue growth and an expanding EV backlog, which supports upside to future electric school‑bus sales. Blue Bird Q1 Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades / price‑target increases — Needham raised its PT to $78 (buy) and BTIG reaffirmed a buy with a $65 PT; analyst optimism amplifies buying interest and supports a higher valuation. Needham PT Raise BTIG Reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction & coverage — Multiple outlets are reporting the strong Q1 and EV backlog narrative, and intraday volume is elevated versus average, indicating institutional or momentum-driven flows. MSN Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data appears to be invalid/zero in the latest release (shows 0 shares / NaN change), so there’s no clear short‑pressure signal to explain the move. This likely has little explanatory power until corrected.
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector/peer commentary — Recent pieces compare Blue Bird to other automotive/EV names (e.g., Tesla) and track relative performance vs. peers; useful context but not direct catalysts. BLBD vs TSLA Sector Performance

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.