Belpointe Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• Belpointe Asset Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Blue Bird Corporation, purchasing 29,504 shares valued at approximately $955,000, representing about 0.09% ownership.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their holdings in Blue Bird, with American Century Companies Inc. reporting a significant increase of 1,394.9% in shares owned during the first quarter.
• Blue Bird reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with earnings per share of $1.19, exceeding analysts' consensus estimates and reflecting a 19.4% year-over-year revenue increase.

Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 29,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $955,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Blue Bird at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,402,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,760,000 after acquiring an additional 468,936 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 1,394.9% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,619,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511,158 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,358,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,981,000 after acquiring an additional 23,569 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 936,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,314,000 after acquiring an additional 112,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 782,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,227,000 after acquiring an additional 312,493 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blue Bird Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $58.26 on Friday. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $60.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.92.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $398.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, Director Phil Horlock sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 240,766 shares in the company, valued at $14,445,960. The trade was a 11.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.21, for a total value of $532,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 48,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,564,881.63. This trade represents a 17.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,392 shares of company stock worth $7,794,083 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BLBD. Zacks Research upgraded 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.36.

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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