Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Blue Bird from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Freedom Capital upgraded Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $93.00 price objective on Blue Bird in a report on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.33.

Blue Bird Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $57.03 on Friday. Blue Bird has a 1-year low of $46.14 and a 1-year high of $83.39. The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.66.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a net margin of 17.48% and a return on equity of 39.97%. The business had revenue of $517.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.73 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blue Bird will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, COO Jeffrey Sanfrey sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.40, for a total value of $249,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 35,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,184,686.40. This represents a 10.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 85.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 629 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird Corporation designs and manufactures school buses for use by public school districts, private schools, and other student transportation providers. The company is one of the leading independent school bus manufacturers in North America and offers vehicles intended to transport students safely and efficiently in a range of operating environments.

Blue Bird’s product portfolio includes Type A, Type C, and Type D school buses. Its buses are available with multiple powertrain options, including electric, propane, gasoline, and diesel configurations, allowing customers to select vehicles based on route requirements, infrastructure, emissions goals, and operating preferences.