Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,650,000 shares, a decline of 10.5% from the September 30th total of 2,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 620,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm downgraded 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their price target on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.00.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $120,384.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 83,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,990,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total value of $1,573,539.87. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at $14,669,801.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $120,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 83,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,990,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,240 shares of company stock worth $2,725,146 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in Blue Bird by 43.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 1,227.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of BLBD traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.76. 127,967 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 580,103. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.04. Blue Bird has a 12-month low of $17.59 and a 12-month high of $59.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 116.23%. The firm had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Blue Bird will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

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.