Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Stock Price Down 5.6% Following Insider Selling

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)’s share price fell 5.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $34.72 and last traded at $34.80. 197,509 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 766,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.86.

Specifically, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $108,565.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,379,871.68. The trade was a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.21.

Blue Bird Trading Down 4.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.56.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 75.22%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLBD. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter valued at about $987,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 60.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 21,919 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 34.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,784,000 after purchasing an additional 79,129 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 95.9% in the third 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 purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth $1,376,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.