Brokerages Set Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Price Target at $67.20

Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.20.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLBD. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Thursday, February 5th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th.

Blue Bird Price Performance

NASDAQ BLBD opened at $53.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $54.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.64. Blue Bird has a 1 year low of $30.04 and a 1 year high of $62.90.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 3,925 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total transaction of $239,346.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 42,255 shares in the company, valued at $2,576,709.90. This represents a 8.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total value of $303,939.68. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 39,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,283,703.94. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,267,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,849,000 after buying an additional 647,637 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,041,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,931,000 after acquiring an additional 135,562 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,048,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,257,000 after acquiring an additional 8,430 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 185.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,283,000 after acquiring an additional 601,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Blue Bird by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 865,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,661,000 after acquiring an additional 109,668 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Company Profile

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.