Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Shares Down 4.3% – Time to Sell?

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) traded down 4.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $37.86 and last traded at $39.39. 661,614 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 605,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Roth Capital cut shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Mkm cut shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Craig Hallum raised their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.64.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.91.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.73. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 91.12%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $822,244.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,347 shares in the company, valued at $3,832,092.83. This trade represents a 17.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.