Bank of America Corp DE Increases Stock Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 66.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 782,466 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 312,493 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 2.44% of Blue Bird worth $30,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position 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 worth $55,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter worth about $123,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blue Bird Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of BLBD stock traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $38.41. 75,590 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 641,235. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $59.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.43. The company's 50-day moving average price is $35.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.63.

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 during 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%. Blue Bird's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird has an average 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.