Blue Bird’s (BLBD) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $66.00 price target on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Roth Mkm lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Capital downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their target price on Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.64.

Blue Bird Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $43.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.59. Blue Bird has a 1 year low of $23.76 and a 1 year high of $59.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 51.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 18.1% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 92,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,990,000 after buying an additional 14,186 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the second quarter valued at about $484,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blue Bird in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,788,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.