Wall Street Zen Downgrades Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) to Hold

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson set a $86.00 price objective on Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Thursday, June 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Blue Bird from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.17.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $76.20 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.30. Blue Bird has a 52-week low of $42.95 and a 52-week high of $83.39.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. Blue Bird’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blue Bird will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLBD. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 85.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 629 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Blue Bird by 10,028.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Blue Bird by 210.0% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 222.7% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

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.