Belpointe Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 29,504 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 acquired a new position in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 29,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $955,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC owned 0.09% of Blue Bird at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in Blue Bird by 24.3% in the 1st 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 period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $52,423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,158 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Blue Bird by 1.8% in the 1st 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 period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Blue Bird by 13.6% in the 1st 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 period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Blue Bird by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 782,466 shares of the company's stock worth $30,227,000 after purchasing an additional 312,493 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on BLBD shares. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.22, for a total value of $490,187.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 48,769 shares in the company, 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 link. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 6,709 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $385,163.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 40,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,341,983.54. This trade represents a 14.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,392 shares of company stock worth $7,794,083 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blue Bird Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.74. 108,418 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 565,179. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.62. Blue Bird Corporation has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $60.45. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $51.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.42.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $377.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.