Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Shares Purchased by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 239,171 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,367 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.74% of Blue Bird worth $9,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at $123,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Trading Up 4.9%

BLBD stock traded up $1.85 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $39.79. The stock had a trading volume of 111,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 655,650. Blue Bird Co. has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $59.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.43. The company's 50-day moving average price is $34.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $358.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.23 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.79.

About Blue Bird

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.