Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Given “Buy” Rating at DA Davidson

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at DA Davidson in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $86.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson’s target price points to a potential upside of 25.72% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research lowered Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Freedom Capital lowered Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BTIG Research increased 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.80.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Blue Bird stock traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $68.41. The stock had a trading volume of 245,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,063. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.37. Blue Bird has a 1-year low of $37.68 and a 1-year high of $81.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $63.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.36.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $352.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.23 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 53.68% and a net margin of 8.91%.Blue Bird’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total value of $303,939.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 39,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,283,703.94. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BLBD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 185.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,283,000 after purchasing an additional 601,690 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 197.3% in the 4th 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 period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 383.1% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 425,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,471,000 after purchasing an additional 337,196 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,102,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,669,000 after purchasing an additional 324,710 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter worth about $14,134,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blue Bird Company Profile

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.