4D Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• 4D Advisors LLC has acquired 55,000 shares of Blue Bird Corporation ($BLBD), valued at approximately $1.78 million, making it the firm's 26th largest holding.
• Several institutional investors, including Dimensional Fund Advisors and Price T Rowe Associates, have increased their stakes in Blue Bird in recent months, contributing to institutional ownership of 93.59%.
• Analysts have generally upgraded Blue Bird's stock, with Zacks Research and Wall Street Zen raising their ratings to "strong-buy" following strong quarterly earnings results beating estimates.

4D Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 55,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,780,000. Blue Bird comprises about 1.4% of 4D Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. 4D Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Blue Bird as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. PDT Partners LLC increased its stake in Blue Bird by 69.8% during the first quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 101,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,285,000 after acquiring an additional 41,704 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth $329,000. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth $456,000. EVR Research LP lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. EVR Research LP now owns 425,000 shares of the company's stock worth $13,757,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 47,202 shares of the company's stock worth $1,528,000 after buying an additional 7,260 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Blue Bird Price Performance

NASDAQ:BLBD traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $58.83. The stock had a trading volume of 332,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 771,498. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $60.45.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.02, for a total value of $767,260.00. Following the sale, the director owned 240,766 shares in the company, valued at $14,210,009.32. This trade represents a 5.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 in the company, valued at $2,341,983.54. This represents a 14.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,541 shares of company stock worth $8,711,849 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.