Needham & Company LLC Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Stock Price

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) had its target price lowered by Needham & Company LLC from $72.00 to $66.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

BLBD has been the topic of a number of other reports. Roth Capital downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.14.

Blue Bird Stock Down 7.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $38.35 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.57 and its 200-day moving average is $48.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blue Bird has a 1 year low of $17.79 and a 1 year high of $59.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blue Bird news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 299,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,669,801.16. The trade was a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $120,384.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 83,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,990,000. This trade represents a 2.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,255 shares of company stock valued at $2,580,075 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLBD. Covestor Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the first quarter worth $29,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the second quarter worth $29,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

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.