Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Shares Down 3.7%

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) shares dropped 3.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $50.40 and last traded at $50.61. Approximately 109,536 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 562,179 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BLBD. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays raised their target price on Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Blue Bird from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Blue Bird has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

Blue Bird Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.08. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.63.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 154.10% and a net margin of 6.36%. The business had revenue of $333.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In related news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total transaction of $1,573,539.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,669,801.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Blue Bird news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total value of $1,573,539.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at $14,669,801.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,520,541.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 58,732 shares of company stock worth $2,835,622. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 43.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Macroview Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its position in Blue Bird by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Company Profile

Blue Bird Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells school buses in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Bus and Parts. It offers Type C, Type D, and specialty buses; and alternative power options through its propane powered, gasoline powered, compressed natural gas powered, and electric powered school buses, as well as diesel engines.