Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Stock Price Down 2.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) traded down 2.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $39.59 and last traded at $39.89. 235,273 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 627,626 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLBD. Roth Capital downgraded Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Roth Mkm lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.64.

Blue Bird Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.85 and a 200 day moving average of $47.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $822,244.19. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,832,092.83. This trade represents a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 268.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,841,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,259 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 26.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,084,000 after purchasing an additional 156,298 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Blue Bird by 8.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 725,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,798,000 after purchasing an additional 56,449 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 635,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 81.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 509,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,432,000 after buying an additional 229,004 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.