Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $784,000 Stock Position in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its position in Blue Bird Corporation by 59.8% in the first quarter, selling 36,057 shares and leaving it with about 24,209 shares valued at $784,000.
• Various investors have shown increased interest in Blue Bird, with Allspring Global Investments significantly raising its stake by 1,879.3%, now holding 196,739 shares valued at $6,479,000.
• Blue Bird Corporation reported earnings of $1.19 per share for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue increasing 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lessened its position in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 59.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,209 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,057 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Blue Bird worth $784,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLBD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays cut their price target on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 700 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total value of $42,014.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 47,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,851,130.06. The trade was a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.02, for a total value of $767,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 240,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,210,009.32. This trade represents a 5.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,832 shares of company stock valued at $8,326,685 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $56.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.62. Blue Bird Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $30.04 and a fifty-two week high of $60.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.86.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $398.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $377.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Blue Bird's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blue Bird Company 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.