Brokerages Set Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Target Price at $77.80

Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.80.

BLBD has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th.

Blue Bird Stock Up 0.8%

BLBD stock opened at $70.23 on Tuesday. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $40.45 and a 52 week high of $81.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.37.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 53.68% and a net margin of 8.91%.The company had revenue of $352.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. Blue Bird’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLBD. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 210.0% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 775 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 222.7% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 823 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 10,028.6% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.