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

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BLBD. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $93.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.33.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $61.89 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.03. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $46.14 and a 52 week high of $83.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.53, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

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

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Triumph Capital Management lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 85.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 629 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 7.0% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

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.