Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Shares Sold by Boston Partners

Key Points

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Boston Partners decreased its position in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 38.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,221 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,459 shares during the period. Boston Partners' holdings in Blue Bird were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $706,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BLBD shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on 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 assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.36.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Blue Bird stock traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $55.31. 752,417 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 794,293. Blue Bird Corporation has a twelve month low of $30.04 and a twelve month high of $60.45. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $46.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.82. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.50.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $398.01 million during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, Director Phil Horlock sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 240,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,445,960. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 139,832 shares of company stock valued at $7,559,425 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.