Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Stock Price Down 5.6% Following Insider Selling

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)’s share price dropped 5.6% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $34.72 and last traded at $34.80. Approximately 197,509 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 766,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.86.

Specifically, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $108,565.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,664 shares in the company, valued at $3,379,871.68. The trade was a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLBD. Bank of America decreased their price target on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Craig Hallum upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.21.

Blue Bird Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.56.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blue Bird

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 610 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.