Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 53.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,266 shares of the company's stock after selling 68,273 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.19% of Blue Bird worth $2,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. FMR LLC increased its stake in Blue Bird by 162.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,840,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,977,000 after buying an additional 2,998,453 shares during the last quarter. EVR Research LP increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 173.3% during the 4th quarter. EVR Research LP now owns 410,000 shares of the company's stock worth $15,838,000 after purchasing an additional 260,000 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,746,000. Castellan Group bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the fourth quarter valued at $7,748,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,743,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
BLBD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.36.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Blue Bird
Insider Activity at Blue Bird
In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $108,565.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,379,871.68. This trade represents a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Blue Bird Stock Performance
NASDAQ BLBD traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $35.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 272,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 665,027. Blue Bird Co. has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $59.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38. 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 (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.
About Blue Bird
(
Free Report)
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.
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