Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Buys 186,799 Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 1,879.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,739 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 186,799 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.61% of Blue Bird worth $6,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 100.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 5,165.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,949 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 3,874 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD stock traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, reaching $45.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 365,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 617,358. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $40.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.80. Blue Bird Corporation has a 1 year low of $30.04 and a 1 year high of $55.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $358.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.23 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 64.83%. Blue Bird's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BLBD shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total transaction of $554,151.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 270,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,290,942.20. The trade was a 4.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total transaction of $451,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,630,193.57. The trade was a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,369,666 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.