Wall Street Zen Upgrades Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) to Buy

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on BLBD. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Blue Bird from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Blue Bird from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.33.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD opened at $60.43 on Friday. Blue Bird has a 12 month low of $46.14 and a 12 month high of $83.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.48. The company has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.35, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.36.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 39.97% and a net margin of 17.48%.The company had revenue of $517.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.73 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Blue Bird will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey Sanfrey sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.40, for a total value of $249,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 35,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,184,686.40. This represents a 10.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLBD. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the second quarter worth approximately $134,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 53.5% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 51.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter worth $252,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird Corporation designs and manufactures school buses for public and private school districts, pupil transportation operators and other organizations. Its product portfolio includes conventional Type C buses, transit-style Type D buses and smaller buses, with powertrain options that include electric, propane and gasoline.

The company also provides replacement parts and support services for its buses through a network of dealers and service locations. Blue Bird emphasizes alternative-fuel and zero-emission transportation solutions, including battery-electric school buses, alongside conventional products.

Founded in 1927, Blue Bird is headquartered in Macon, Georgia.