Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Invests $236,000 in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC has invested approximately $236,000 in Blue Bird Corporation by purchasing 7,300 shares, marking a new position for the firm in the first quarter.
• In addition to Ashton Thomas, several large investors have increased their stakes in Blue Bird, with American Century Companies Inc. significantly boosting its position by 1,394.9%.
• Blue Bird Corporation reported quarterly earnings of $1.19 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.90, with a revenue of $398.01 million for the same period.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 24.3% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,402,214 shares of the company's stock worth $77,760,000 after purchasing an additional 468,936 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 1,394.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,619,494 shares of the company's stock worth $52,423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,158 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 1.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,358,691 shares of the company's stock worth $43,981,000 after purchasing an additional 23,569 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 13.6% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 936,495 shares of the company's stock worth $30,314,000 after purchasing an additional 112,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 782,466 shares of the company's stock worth $30,227,000 after acquiring an additional 312,493 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.22, for a total transaction of $490,187.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 48,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,693,024.18. The trade was a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,000 shares of Blue Bird 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 directly owned 240,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,210,009.32. This trade represents a 5.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,392 shares of company stock valued at $7,794,083. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

BLBD opened at $57.96 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $51.19 and its 200-day moving average is $42.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.62. 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 twelve month low of $30.04 and a twelve month high of $60.45.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $398.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $377.64 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 61.66% and a net margin of 8.16%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price 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, Wall Street Zen upgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.36.

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.

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