Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has increased its stake in Blue Bird Corporation by 13.6% during the first quarter, now holding 936,495 shares valued at about $30.3 million.
• Blue Bird reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations of $0.90, with revenue increasing by 19.4% year-over-year to $398.01 million.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded Blue Bird's stock rating recently, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.36.

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 936,495 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 112,197 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 2.92% of Blue Bird worth $30,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Blue Bird by 1,879.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 196,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,479,000 after buying an additional 186,799 shares during the period. Brookwood Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird during the first quarter valued at about $424,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Blue Bird by 1.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,358,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,981,000 after buying an additional 23,569 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd grew its position in Blue Bird by 96.0% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 13,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 6,517 shares during the period. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blue Bird by 36.9% during the first quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 26,357 shares of the company's stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

BLBD traded down $0.30 on Friday, reaching $57.96. The company had a trading volume of 467,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 572,717. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.62. Blue Bird Corporation has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $60.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.07. 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 (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $398.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.64 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 61.66%. The business's revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blue Bird news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.22, for a total transaction of $490,187.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 48,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,693,024.18. This trade represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 30,000 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 240,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,445,960. The trade was a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 137,392 shares of company stock valued at $7,794,083. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BLBD. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.36.

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.