First Trust Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 355.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 883,404 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 689,394 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 2.75% of Blue Bird worth $34,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BLBD. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 44.1% in 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 period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the fourth quarter valued at $87,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the fourth quarter valued at about $132,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth about $137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.36.

Blue Bird Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of BLBD stock traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $34.87. The company had a trading volume of 412,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 665,942. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $59.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.09.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $108,565.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,379,871.68. This trade represents a 3.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.