Blue Bird surges to 6-month high after beat-and-raise report

Blue Bird

12/12/2023 17:29

** Shares of school bus maker Blue Bird Corp  BLBD.O  up
17.5% at $25.63 on Tues after qtrly report tops expectations
    ** BLBD shares hit highest level since Jun 5 and on track
for biggest one-day pct gain since May 12
    ** Co late Mon reported Q4 rev of ~$303 mln, up ~18% yr/yr,
and adj EPS of 66 cents; Consensus estimates were $290 mln and
48 cents/sh, per LSEG data
    ** Blue Bird said given strong finish to 2023 and "better
line-of-sight" into next year, it raised fiscal 2024 guidance to
rev of $1.15-$1.25 bln
    ** Several analysts boosted their PTs in wake of report:
BofA Global Research goes to $30.50 from $26.50, Craig-Hallum
increases from $34 to Street-high $38
    ** D.A. Davidson raises PT from $29 to $31
    ** "With the company still in the earlier stages of a
multi-year market upturn, we remain comfortable recommending the
stock," D.A. Davidson wrote in note to clients
    ** All 6 analysts covering BLBD are bullish and their median
PT is $29.75 - LSEG
    ** With move on the session, stock up >140% YTD

 (Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed
are his own)
 ((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com
lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))