Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Position Raised by Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC

Key Points

• Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its position in Blue Bird Corporation by 18.2%, owning approximately 0.15% of the company with a stake valued at $1.53 million.
• Multiple institutional investors significantly boosted their stakes in Blue Bird, with Allspring Global Investments increasing its investment by an astounding 1,879.3% in the first quarter.
• Blue Bird recently reported a quarterly earnings beat, posting $1.19 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.90, along with a 19.4% year-over-year revenue increase.

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its position in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,202 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,260 shares during the quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC owned about 0.15% of Blue Bird worth $1,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Blue Bird by 1,394.9% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,619,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,158 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Blue Bird by 236.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 774,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,906,000 after purchasing an additional 544,248 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in Blue Bird by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,402,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,760,000 after purchasing an additional 468,936 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Blue Bird by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 782,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,227,000 after purchasing an additional 312,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the 1st quarter valued at about $8,298,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,693,024.18. This trade represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.21, for a total value of $532,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 48,203 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,881.63. This trade represents a 17.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 139,832 shares of company stock worth $7,559,425. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BLBD. Barclays cut 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 note on Thursday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.36.

Blue Bird Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:BLBD traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $58.39. The stock had a trading volume of 566,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 571,430. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Blue Bird Corporation has a 1-year low of $30.04 and a 1-year high of $60.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.38. The company has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.50.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 61.66%. The company had revenue of $398.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Blue Bird's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS 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.