Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Buys New Shares in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 106,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,719,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.33% of Blue Bird as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth about $2,134,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 49,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 25,102 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 63,500 shares of the company's stock worth $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 15,900 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Blue Bird by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company's stock worth $73,292,000 after purchasing an additional 505,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in 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 worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 52,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

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

Blue Bird Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:BLBD traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.94. The stock had a trading volume of 788,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 572,000. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.60. The business's 50 day moving average is $48.92 and its 200 day moving average is $47.27. Blue Bird Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.59 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 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 company had revenue of $333.37 million for 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, sell-side analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLBD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm cut Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Roth Capital cut shares of Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.00.

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.