Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Shares Bought by EVR Research LP

Key Points

• EVR Research LP has increased its stake in Blue Bird Corporation by 3.7%, making it the firm's 6th largest position, with owned shares valued at approximately $13.76 million.
• Blue Bird reported earnings of $1.19 per share for the quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.90, along with a 19.4% year-over-year revenue increase to $398.01 million.
• Brokerages have recently adjusted their ratings on Blue Bird, with Zacks Research upgrading the company to a "strong-buy" rating and Needham & Company raising its price target from $49 to $53.

EVR Research LP raised its stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 425,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Blue Bird accounts for approximately 3.9% of EVR Research LP's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. EVR Research LP owned 1.32% of Blue Bird worth $13,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 440.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,442 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 1st quarter worth about $102,000. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Barclays dropped 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 report on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One 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 stock. 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 at Blue Bird

In other news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 48,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,693,024.18. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.21, for a total transaction of $532,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 48,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,564,881.63. This represents a 17.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,832 shares of company stock valued at $7,559,425 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Blue Bird stock traded down $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.39. 566,068 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 872,110. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.50. Blue Bird Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $30.04 and a fifty-two week high of $60.45.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.64 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 61.66%. Blue Bird's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current 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.