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 bought a new stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Blue Bird by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 305,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,816,000 after acquiring an additional 29,868 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Blue Bird by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 45,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 3,142 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Blue Bird by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 782,466 shares of the company's stock worth $30,227,000 after buying an additional 312,493 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Blue Bird by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 210,040 shares of the company's stock worth $8,114,000 after buying an additional 11,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Blue Bird by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 102,193 shares of the company's stock worth $3,948,000 after buying an additional 21,012 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Trading Up 3.3%

NASDAQ BLBD traded up $1.91 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $60.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 374,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,218. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.22 and a 200 day moving average of $42.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.62. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $398.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.64 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 61.66%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 research note on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.79.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 48,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,693,024.18. This trade represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.02, for a total transaction of $767,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 240,766 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold 137,392 shares of company stock valued at $7,794,083 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.