BNP Paribas Financial Markets Grows Stock Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,575 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,237 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.61% of Blue Bird worth $7,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Blue Bird by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth $87,000. Finally, New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth $123,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLBD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Needham & Company LLC dropped 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. Barclays dropped their target price on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. 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 note on Monday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.79.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Blue Bird stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.82. 331,540 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 647,859. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $35.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.43. Blue Bird Co. has a 1 year low of $30.04 and a 1 year high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $358.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $348.23 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.