Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $80.50.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research cut Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Freedom Capital cut Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $86.00 target price on Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Blue Bird by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd increased its position in Blue Bird by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 4,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Blue Bird by 210.0% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Blue Bird stock opened at $76.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Blue Bird has a 1 year low of $42.00 and a 1 year high of $81.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $70.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.25.

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

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.