Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $262,000.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 34,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 7,772 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 263,400 shares of the company's stock worth $10,175,000 after buying an additional 16,900 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 59,610 shares of the company's stock worth $2,303,000 after buying an additional 14,225 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 60.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,019 shares of the company's stock worth $2,783,000 after buying an additional 21,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 2.4% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 327,857 shares of the company's stock worth $15,724,000 after buying an additional 7,770 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Blue Bird Price Performance
Shares of BLBD traded down $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.50. The stock had a trading volume of 918,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,199. The company's fifty day moving average is $40.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Blue Bird Co. has a 52 week low of $27.36 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.58.
Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.73. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 91.12%. On average, analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $822,244.19. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,832,092.83. This represents a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BLBD shares. BTIG Research started 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.64.
View Our Latest Analysis on BLBD
Blue Bird Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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