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

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $66.00 to $49.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 37.14% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on BLBD. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.21.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $35.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Blue Bird has a fifty-two week low of $29.00 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.12.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $3,832,092.83. This represents a 17.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 4,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

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.