62,178 Shares in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Acquired by Congress Asset Management Co.

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. has acquired 62,178 shares of Blue Bird Corporation, valued at approximately $2,684,000, representing a 0.20% stake in the company.
• Several research firms, including Zacks Research and BTIG Research, have upgraded Blue Bird shares, with analysts giving an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.79.
• Blue Bird reported a 19.4% increase in quarterly revenue, reaching $398 million, and exceeded earnings per share estimates by $0.29 with reported EPS of $1.19.

Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 62,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,684,000. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.20% of Blue Bird as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 440.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,442 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the 1st quarter valued at about $102,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Blue Bird by 561.0% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Blue Bird by 2,090.5% during the first 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 during the period. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BLBD. Zacks Research raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.22, for a total value of $490,187.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 48,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,693,024.18. The trade was a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 6,709 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $385,163.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,341,983.54. The trade was a 14.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,392 shares of company stock worth $7,794,083 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blue Bird Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $57.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.58. Blue Bird Corporation has a 1 year low of $30.04 and a 1 year high of $61.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.84.

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

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.

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