Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Posted by Francis Steltz on May 13th, 2026

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD – Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

BLBD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.80.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Blue Bird

Blue Bird Price Performance

BLBD stock opened at $69.33 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.72 and a 200-day moving average of $54.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Blue Bird has a 12 month low of $37.68 and a 12 month high of $81.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.38.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.12. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 53.68%. The company had revenue of $352.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.23 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. Blue Bird’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blue Bird will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total transaction of $303,939.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 39,011 shares in the company, valued at $2,283,703.94. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 3,925 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total transaction of $239,346.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,255 shares in the company, valued at $2,576,709.90. This trade represents a 8.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 28.3% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 3,392 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 7.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 688,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,118,000 after acquiring an additional 48,174 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the first quarter worth approximately $2,108,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 23.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 506,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,767,000 after acquiring an additional 96,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 36.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 56,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,216,000 after acquiring an additional 15,062 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Blue Bird

(Get Free Report)

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ: BLBD) is a leading manufacturer of buses and mass transportation vehicles headquartered in Fort Valley, Georgia. The company’s core business encompasses the design, engineering, and production of school buses and activity buses, with a product lineup that includes conventional (Type C) models, transit-style (Type D) models and specialty configurations for special-needs and activity transport. In recent years, Blue Bird has expanded its offerings to include zero-emission electric school buses, reflecting its commitment to advanced propulsion technologies and environmental sustainability.

Established in 1927, Blue Bird has built a legacy of safety and reliability in student transportation.