Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Shares Gap Up to $50.47

Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $50.47, but opened at $51.95. Blue Bird shares last traded at $51.04, with a volume of 45,423 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $44.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.25.

Blue Bird Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.63. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.71.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $345.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.00 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 6.36% and a return on equity of 154.10%. As a group, analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total value of $235,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,186,636.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd acquired a new stake in Blue Bird in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 220.1% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth $89,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Blue Bird during the first quarter worth $120,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.