Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Stake Raised by Capital Fund Management S.A.

Key Points

• Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its ownership in Blue Bird Corporation by 157.0%, acquiring an additional 26,535 shares, which brings its total holdings to 43,441 shares worth approximately $1.4 million.
• Analyst reports indicate a positive outlook for Blue Bird, with Needham & Company raising their price target to $53.00 and Zacks upgrading the stock from "hold" to "strong buy."
• Blue Bird's latest earnings report showed a significant increase in revenue, reporting $398.01 million for the quarter, which exceeded expectations and marked a 19.4% year-over-year growth.

Capital Fund Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 157.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,441 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,535 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. owned about 0.14% of Blue Bird worth $1,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 440.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,442 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the first quarter worth approximately $102,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Price Performance

BLBD traded down $0.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $58.39. The stock had a trading volume of 566,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 877,214. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $48.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.59. Blue Bird Corporation has a 1-year low of $30.04 and a 1-year high of $60.45.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reduced 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, Needham & Company LLC upped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Phil Horlock sold 21,129 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.16, for a total transaction of $1,228,862.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 240,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,002,950.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total value of $42,014.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 47,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,851,130.06. This represents a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 139,832 shares of company stock worth $7,559,425. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.