Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Given New $49.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) had its price target reduced by Needham & Company LLC from $66.00 to $49.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on BLBD. Bank of America cut their price target on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Blue Bird in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.21.

Blue Bird Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $37.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.06. Blue Bird has a 52-week low of $29.00 and a 52-week high of $59.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 91.12% and a net margin of 7.83%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Blue Bird will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $822,244.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,832,092.83. The trade was a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth about $987,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 60.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,783,000 after buying an additional 21,919 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,784,000 after buying an additional 79,129 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after purchasing an additional 25,563 shares during the period. Finally, Encompass More Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,376,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Blue Bird

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.