Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 17,648 Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 12.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,905 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,648 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.39% of Blue Bird worth $4,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BLBD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,426,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,752,000 after buying an additional 25,745 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 36.5% in the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 81,379 shares of the company's stock worth $2,634,000 after acquiring an additional 21,769 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,335,122 shares of the company's stock worth $51,576,000 after acquiring an additional 160,248 shares in the last quarter. Ruffer LLP bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,790,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 21.1% during the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 41,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 7,180 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD traded up $0.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $45.54. The stock had a trading volume of 525,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 617,296. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.70. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $55.60.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 64.83%. The business had revenue of $358.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $348.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BLBD shares. Barclays cut their target price on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blue Bird news, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total value of $554,151.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 270,766 shares in the company, valued at $11,290,942.20. This represents a 4.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company 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.