13,540 Shares in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Bought by Invst LLC

Key Points

• Invst LLC has acquired 13,540 shares of Blue Bird Corporation, valued at approximately $438,000, marking a significant new stake for the firm.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Northern Trust Corp and Bank of America Corp DE, have increased their holdings in Blue Bird, indicating growing institutional interest with hedge funds owning 93.59% of the company's stock.
• Blue Bird reported strong earnings with an EPS of $1.19 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 19.4% revenue increase year-over-year.

Invst LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 13,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $438,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 45,002 shares of the company's stock worth $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth approximately $955,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth approximately $236,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Blue Bird by 2,090.5% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,461 shares of the company's stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its position in Blue Bird by 108.6% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 31,640 shares of the company's stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 16,474 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 6,709 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $385,163.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 40,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,341,983.54. This trade represents a 14.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.02, for a total transaction of $767,260.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 240,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,210,009.32. The trade was a 5.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 137,392 shares of company stock valued at $7,794,083. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blue Bird Stock Down 3.0%

NASDAQ:BLBD traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $56.24. The stock had a trading volume of 509,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,830. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Blue Bird Corporation has a 1-year low of $30.04 and a 1-year high of $60.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.31. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.61.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 61.66%. The company had revenue of $398.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Blue Bird's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BLBD shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.36.

Blue Bird Profile

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.