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

Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $75.80.

BLBD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Freedom Capital cut shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 775 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 222.7% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 823 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 10,028.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Blue Bird stock opened at $69.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $59.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.84. Blue Bird has a 1 year low of $37.68 and a 1 year high of $81.51. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.38.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 53.68%. The firm had revenue of $352.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $335.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 4.35 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.