Craig Hallum Increases Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Price Target to $71.00

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) had its target price hoisted by Craig Hallum from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on BLBD. Roth Capital downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.64.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

BLBD opened at $40.65 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.53. Blue Bird has a 1-year low of $18.33 and a 1-year high of $59.40. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.62.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $124,923.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,532.77. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Blue Bird by 13.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 60,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 6,940 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in Blue Bird by 38.3% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 15,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird during the third quarter worth about $244,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Blue Bird by 26.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,084,000 after purchasing an additional 156,298 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Blue Bird by 976.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 128,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,171,000 after purchasing an additional 116,707 shares during the period. 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.