Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Shares Sold by 325 Capital LLC

Key Points

• 325 Capital LLC has decreased its position in Blue Bird Corporation by 4.8%, now holding approximately 773,193 shares, making it the firm's 4th largest position.
• In the most recent quarter, Blue Bird reported $1.19 EPS, surpassing expectations, with a revenue of $398.01 million, a 19.4% increase year-over-year.
• A significant number of institutional investors have increased their holdings in Blue Bird, with 93.59% of the company's stock now owned by hedge funds and other institutions.

325 Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 773,193 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,564 shares during the period. Blue Bird makes up about 10.4% of 325 Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. 325 Capital LLC owned approximately 2.41% of Blue Bird worth $25,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 4D Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth $1,780,000. PDT Partners LLC raised its stake in Blue Bird by 69.8% in the 1st quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 101,488 shares of the company's stock worth $3,285,000 after purchasing an additional 41,704 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the 1st quarter valued at about $329,000. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the 1st quarter valued at about $456,000. Finally, EVR Research LP grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. EVR Research LP now owns 425,000 shares of the company's stock worth $13,757,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLBD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blue Bird news, Director Phil Horlock sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,800,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 240,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,445,960. The trade was a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the 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 $2,693,024.18. The trade was a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,541 shares of company stock worth $8,711,849 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of Blue Bird stock traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $58.83. 332,490 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 771,498. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.58. Blue Bird Corporation has a 1-year low of $30.04 and a 1-year high of $60.45. The company has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.62. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $49.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.33.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $398.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $377.64 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 61.66% and a net margin of 8.16%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

About Blue Bird

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.