Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $66.00 to $63.50. The stock had previously closed at $42.83, but opened at $38.87. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Blue Bird shares last traded at $41.22, with a volume of 1,461,827 shares changing hands.

Several other analysts also recently commented on BLBD. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Capital downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total value of $124,923.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,532.77. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter valued at $987,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,292,000 after acquiring an additional 505,727 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,000,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 95.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,504,000 after acquiring an additional 25,563 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 360.0% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 105,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,689,000 after purchasing an additional 82,681 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Trading Down 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

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.