Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Short Interest Up 29.1% in October

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,420,000 shares, an increase of 29.1% from the October 15th total of 2,650,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 668,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BLBD. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Blue Bird from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.14.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $120,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 83,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,990,000. This represents a 2.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total transaction of $1,573,539.87. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,669,801.16. The trade was a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,255 shares of company stock valued at $2,580,075 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Covestor Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

BLBD opened at $36.37 on Friday. Blue Bird has a 52-week low of $17.79 and a 52-week high of $59.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.16 and a 200 day moving average of $48.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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.