Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, an increase of 19.1% from the May 31st total of 898,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 547,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the first quarter worth $29,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 18,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 220.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. American International Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 9.5% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 13,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 47,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Blue Bird from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Blue Bird from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Blue Bird from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Blue Bird from $44.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.25.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD traded down $0.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.85. The company had a trading volume of 2,344,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,931. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.62. Blue Bird has a 52 week low of $17.59 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.40 and its 200 day moving average is $37.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $345.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.00 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 154.10% and a net margin of 6.36%. Equities research analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.