Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) is Castellan Group's 10th Largest Position

Key Points

• Castellan Group has **increased its stake by 63.9%** in Blue Bird Corporation, owning **328,802 shares** valued at approximately **$10.6 million** as of its last filing.
• Several institutional investors have also boosted their positions in Blue Bird, with **US Bancorp DE increasing its stake by 440.1%** during the same period.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Blue Bird, with **three analysts recommending a hold** and **six giving a buy rating**, reflecting a consensus of **Moderate Buy** with an average target price of **$56.79**.

Castellan Group lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 63.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 328,802 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 128,228 shares during the quarter. Blue Bird makes up 3.0% of Castellan Group's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Castellan Group owned about 1.02% of Blue Bird worth $10,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 162.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,840,198 shares of the company's stock worth $186,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998,453 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Blue Bird by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,426,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,752,000 after acquiring an additional 25,745 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in Blue Bird by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,933,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,683,000 after acquiring an additional 241,117 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,335,122 shares of the company's stock worth $51,576,000 after purchasing an additional 160,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 355.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 883,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,126,000 after purchasing an additional 689,394 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $43.33. The stock had a trading volume of 463,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,556. The firm has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Blue Bird Corporation has a 52 week low of $30.04 and a 52 week high of $55.60.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $358.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.23 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 64.83% and a net margin of 7.97%. The business's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,630,193.57. The trade was a 14.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total value of $554,151.30. Following the sale, the director owned 270,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,290,942.20. The trade was a 4.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,149 shares of company stock worth $1,369,666. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

About Blue Bird

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.