Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Increases Stock Position in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its holdings in Blue Bird Corporation by 108.6%, owning approximately 31,640 shares valued at $1.02 million at the end of the most recent quarter.
• Institutional investors collectively own 93.59% of Blue Bird's stock, with notable increases in positions from Allspring Global Investments and other firms during the first quarter.
• Analysts have upgraded Blue Bird's stock ratings, with Needham raising its price target from $49.00 to $53.00 and Zacks elevating it to a "strong-buy" rating, reflecting a general positive sentiment towards the company.

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its position in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 108.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,640 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,474 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd owned approximately 0.10% of Blue Bird worth $1,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BLBD. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,402,214 shares of the company's stock worth $77,760,000 after buying an additional 468,936 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $52,423,000 after buying an additional 1,511,158 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,358,691 shares of the company's stock worth $43,981,000 after buying an additional 23,569 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 936,495 shares of the company's stock worth $30,314,000 after buying an additional 112,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 782,466 shares of the company's stock worth $30,227,000 after buying an additional 312,493 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BLBD. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.36.

Blue Bird Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Blue Bird stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 467,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 572,717. Blue Bird Corporation has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $60.45. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.62. The firm's 50-day moving average is $51.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.11. 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 (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $377.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Blue Bird news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were 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. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 6,709 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $385,163.69. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 40,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,341,983.54. The trade was a 14.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,392 shares of company stock valued at $7,794,083. 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.