Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Price Target Raised to $65.00 at BTIG Research

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) had its target price hoisted by BTIG Research from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on BLBD. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.79.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $60.15 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $52.22 and its 200 day moving average is $42.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.62. Blue Bird has a fifty-two week low of $30.04 and a fifty-two week high of $60.45.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $398.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.64 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 61.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Blue Bird will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.21, for a total value of $532,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 48,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,564,881.63. This represents a 17.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.22, for a total transaction of $490,187.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 48,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,693,024.18. This trade represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 137,392 shares of company stock worth $7,794,083. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Blue Bird during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Blue Bird by 159.9% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Blue Bird by 440.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Blue Bird by 30.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird during the first quarter valued at approximately $102,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells school buses in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Bus and Parts. It offers Type C, Type D, and specialty buses; and alternative power options through its propane powered, gasoline powered, compressed natural gas powered, and electric powered school buses, as well as diesel engines.