Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Takes $2.52 Million Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 52,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,517,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Blue Bird at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,174 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Blue Bird by 3.4% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,473 shares of the company's stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the second quarter valued at $29,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blue Bird Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.54. The company had a trading volume of 701,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 784,772. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.40. Blue Bird Co. has a twelve month low of $17.65 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The stock's 50 day moving average is $46.06 and its 200-day moving average is $48.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.62.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.00 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 116.23% and a net margin of 7.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total value of $124,923.48. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 80,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,015,532.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $761,227.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,715,507.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $124,923.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,532.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,240 shares of company stock valued at $2,725,146 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLBD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. 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 report on Thursday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.00.

Blue Bird Profile

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.