Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $62.90 and last traded at $60.8790, with a volume of 70921 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $62.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLBD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on Blue Bird from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.20.

Blue Bird Stock Down 0.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.77.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.20. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 57.60%. The company had revenue of $333.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, Director Phil Horlock sold 15,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total value of $775,510.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 225,385 shares in the company, valued at $11,363,911.70. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 3,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 42,255 shares in the company, valued at $2,576,709.90. The trade was a 8.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 27,290 shares of company stock worth $1,417,170 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased 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 worth $97,849,000 after buying an additional 647,637 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 185.6% during the 3rd 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 197.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 712,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,497,000 after buying an additional 472,990 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 383.1% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 425,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,471,000 after purchasing an additional 337,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,134,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.