American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 1,511,158 Shares of Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. significantly increased its stake in Blue Bird Corporation by purchasing 1,511,158 shares, raising its ownership to 5.04% and valuing its shares at approximately $52.4 million.
• Recent reports from Zacks Research and Wall Street Zen upgraded Blue Bird's stock to a strong-buy rating, while analysts maintain an average price target of $57.36.
• Blue Bird reported a 19.4% increase in year-over-year revenue, with $398.01 million generated in its latest quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 1,394.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,619,494 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,511,158 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 5.04% of Blue Bird worth $52,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC increased its position in Blue Bird by 9.3% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,771 shares of the company's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Blue Bird by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.22, for a total value of $490,187.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 48,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,693,024.18. This trade represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 21,129 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.16, for a total value of $1,228,862.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 240,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,002,950.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,832 shares of company stock worth $7,559,425. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $55.36. 55,343 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 567,113. Blue Bird Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $30.04 and a fifty-two week high of $60.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS 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 business had revenue of $398.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The firm'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 fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLBD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.36.

Blue Bird Company 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.