O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 29.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,869 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,518 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Blue Bird worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter valued at $3,817,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 78,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,044,000 after purchasing an additional 10,624 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Blue Bird in the fourth quarter worth $132,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the fourth quarter worth $3,349,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total transaction of $108,565.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,379,871.68. This represents a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Blue Bird Stock Performance

BLBD stock traded up $0.54 on Friday, hitting $34.19. The company had a trading volume of 540,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 666,266. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $34.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38. Blue Bird Co. has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $59.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BLBD shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.21.

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.