Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Short Interest Down 10.5% in October

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 trading volume, of 620,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Roth Mkm lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Capital lowered Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,990,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $120,384.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 83,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,990,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total value of $1,573,539.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,669,801.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 43.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 1,227.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD traded up $0.57 on Wednesday, reaching $43.76. 127,967 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 580,103. The business’s 50-day moving average is $47.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.04. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $17.59 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.60.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $333.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.00 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 116.23%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Blue Bird will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

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.