Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $66.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 62.60% from the company’s current price.

BLBD has been the subject of several other reports. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Blue Bird in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price target 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. Roth Mkm cut shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.64.

Blue Bird Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $40.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Blue Bird has a 1 year low of $17.79 and a 1 year high of $59.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $43.76 and its 200-day moving average is $48.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $124,923.48. Following the transaction, the president now owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,532.77. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLBD. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 13.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 60,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,712,000 after buying an additional 6,940 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 15,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $244,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,084,000 after purchasing an additional 156,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 976.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 128,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,171,000 after buying an additional 116,707 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

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.