Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $2.31 Million Stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 69.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,872 shares of the company's stock after selling 136,408 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.19% of Blue Bird worth $2,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Blue Bird by 60.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,783,000 after buying an additional 21,919 shares during the period. Encompass More Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,376,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the fourth quarter worth approximately $354,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 8.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 725,573 shares of the company's stock worth $34,798,000 after purchasing an additional 56,449 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 26.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,228 shares of the company's stock worth $36,084,000 after purchasing an additional 156,298 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total transaction of $108,565.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,664 shares in the company, valued at $3,379,871.68. This represents a 3.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Blue Bird stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $34.85. 52,714 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 662,697. 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.04 and a 200 day moving average of $38.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BLBD shares. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of 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 Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.36.

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.