Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Trading Down 8.5% – Here’s What Happened

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) shares were down 8.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $68.05 and last traded at $66.5450. Approximately 30,194 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 434,964 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BLBD shares. Wall Street Zen cut Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Freedom Capital cut shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.80.

Blue Bird Stock Up 1.0%

The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.52.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.12. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 53.68% and a net margin of 8.91%.The business had revenue of $352.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. Blue Bird’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blue Bird news, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total transaction of $303,939.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 39,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,283,703.94. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,041,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,931,000 after purchasing an additional 135,562 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Blue Bird by 41.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,102,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,669,000 after buying an additional 324,710 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,048,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,257,000 after buying an additional 8,430 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Blue Bird by 185.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,283,000 after acquiring an additional 601,690 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 865,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,661,000 after acquiring an additional 109,668 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

About Blue Bird

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.