Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Grows Stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 46.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,596 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,853 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.15% of Blue Bird worth $1,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLBD. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 782,466 shares of the company's stock worth $30,227,000 after buying an additional 312,493 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 195,575 shares of the company's stock worth $7,555,000 after buying an additional 46,237 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 45,173 shares of the company's stock worth $1,745,000 after buying an additional 3,142 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 13,242 shares of the company's stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 2,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth $2,309,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BLBD shares. StockNews.com downgraded Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Needham & Company LLC cut 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. Barclays cut their price objective on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.79.

Blue Bird Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ BLBD traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.82. 331,540 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 647,859. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Blue Bird Co. has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $59.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.43.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $358.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $348.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Blue Bird's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.