Millennium Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 236.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 774,175 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 544,248 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 2.41% of Blue Bird worth $29,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

NASDAQ BLBD traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.63. 252,434 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 643,197. Blue Bird Co. has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $59.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm's 50-day moving average is $35.65 and its 200-day moving average is $37.54.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 75.22%. The company had revenue of $358.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $348.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Blue Bird's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.79.

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.