Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

by · The Markets Daily

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD – Free Report) in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $66.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BLBD. Roth Capital cut shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. DA Davidson increased their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Blue Bird in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.64.

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Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $40.59 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.62. Blue Bird has a 1-year low of $17.79 and a 1-year high of $59.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total value of $124,923.48. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,532.77. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 36.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,292,000 after buying an additional 505,727 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 268.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,841,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,259 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Blue Bird by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,084,000 after acquiring an additional 156,298 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 8.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 725,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,798,000 after purchasing an additional 56,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 0.4% during the third quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 635,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,598 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

About Blue Bird

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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.

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