Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on BLBD. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Roth Capital began coverage on Blue Bird in a report on Thursday, June 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson set a $86.00 price target on Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.17.

Blue Bird Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $76.20 on Friday. Blue Bird has a twelve month low of $42.95 and a twelve month high of $83.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $73.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.20.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 53.68% and a net margin of 8.91%.The company had revenue of $352.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Blue Bird will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 197.3% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 712,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,497,000 after purchasing an additional 472,990 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 383.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 425,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,471,000 after buying an additional 337,196 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 41.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,102,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,669,000 after buying an additional 324,710 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Blue Bird by 362.2% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 304,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,275,000 after acquiring an additional 238,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the third quarter worth about $10,932,000. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

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.