Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 9,337 Shares of Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Blue Bird Corporation by 2.9%, now owning approximately 308,851 shares valued at about $10 million.
• Millennium Management LLC significantly increased its position by 236.7% in the last quarter, holding 774,175 shares worth about $30 million.
• Blue Bird Corporation's stock received a boost in ratings, with analysts upgrading it to a strong-buy and adjusting price targets, indicating positive market sentiment.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 308,851 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,337 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.96% of Blue Bird worth $9,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 100.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 5,165.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,949 shares of the company's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 3,874 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other news, Director Phil Horlock sold 21,129 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $14,002,950.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president 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 a total of 139,832 shares of company stock worth $7,559,425 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.36.

Blue Bird Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ BLBD traded down $0.85 on Friday, hitting $58.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 199,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,074. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.58 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 company's 50-day moving average is $48.03 and its 200 day moving average is $40.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.50.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $398.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $377.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The company's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.