Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Shares Pass Above 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) shares crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.23 and traded as high as $55.83. Blue Bird shares last traded at $54.42, with a volume of 233,045 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on BLBD shares. Barclays increased their target price on Blue Bird from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.20.

Blue Bird Stock Up 3.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $333.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.74 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 57.60% and a net margin of 8.65%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 3,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total transaction of $239,346.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 42,255 shares in the company, valued at $2,576,709.90. This represents a 8.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total value of $303,939.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 39,011 shares in the company, valued at $2,283,703.94. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 185.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,283,000 after buying an additional 601,690 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Blue Bird by 197.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 712,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,497,000 after acquiring an additional 472,990 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Blue Bird by 383.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 425,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,471,000 after acquiring an additional 337,196 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,134,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,932,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Company Profile

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ: BLBD) is a leading manufacturer of buses and mass transportation vehicles headquartered in Fort Valley, Georgia. The company’s core business encompasses the design, engineering, and production of school buses and activity buses, with a product lineup that includes conventional (Type C) models, transit-style (Type D) models and specialty configurations for special-needs and activity transport. In recent years, Blue Bird has expanded its offerings to include zero-emission electric school buses, reflecting its commitment to advanced propulsion technologies and environmental sustainability.

Established in 1927, Blue Bird has built a legacy of safety and reliability in student transportation.