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

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

BLBD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Blue Bird from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Monday, November 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $67.20.

Blue Bird Trading Down 3.2%

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $57.34 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.45. Blue Bird has a 1-year low of $30.04 and a 1-year high of $61.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, Director Phil Horlock sold 15,381 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total value of $775,510.02. Following the transaction, the director owned 225,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,363,911.70. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 7,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total transaction of $402,313.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 49,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,473,493.93. The trade was a 13.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Blue Bird by 40.0% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,041,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,931,000 after purchasing an additional 135,562 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 185.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,283,000 after purchasing an additional 601,690 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 27.9% in the second quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 823,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,525,000 after buying an additional 179,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 769,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,159,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.