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

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,960,000 shares, a growth of 21.8% from the September 15th total of 2,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 607,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,520,541.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $761,227.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 331,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,715,507.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,520,541.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,240 shares of company stock valued at $2,725,146 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter worth approximately $370,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter worth about $1,702,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 44,730 shares of the company's stock worth $1,715,000 after buying an additional 11,793 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 2,177.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 55,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 52,912 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Blue Bird by 104.8% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 49,057 shares of the company's stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 25,102 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD traded up $0.80 during trading on Monday, reaching $44.95. The stock had a trading volume of 522,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 575,670. 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 has a 52 week low of $17.59 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The firm's fifty day moving average is $48.17 and its 200 day moving average is $47.48. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.60.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BLBD shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.00.

Blue Bird Company 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.