Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Buys New Position in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC has initiated a new investment in Blue Bird Corporation, acquiring 10,161 shares valued at approximately $329,000.
• During the first quarter, several hedge funds increased their stakes in Blue Bird, with US Bancorp DE boosting its holdings by 440.1%.
• Blue Bird reported a 19.4% year-over-year revenue increase for the last quarter, achieving earnings of $1.19 EPS, exceeding analyst estimates.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BLBD. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 440.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,442 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth $102,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Blue Bird by 561.0% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 5,165.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,949 shares of the company's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 3,874 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 9.3% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,771 shares of the company's stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blue Bird Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Blue Bird stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 384,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 535,082. Blue Bird Corporation has a 52 week low of $30.04 and a 52 week high of $60.45. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.53.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.29. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 61.66% and a net margin of 8.16%.The company had revenue of $398.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.22, for a total value of $490,187.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 48,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,693,024.18. This trade represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,000 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.02, for a total transaction of $767,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 240,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,210,009.32. This represents a 5.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,392 shares of company stock valued at $7,794,083 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLBD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.79.

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.