Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Key Points

• Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Blue Bird Corporation by 52.4% in the first quarter, now owning approximately $2.93 million worth of stock.
• Blue Bird's latest quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.96, surpassing estimates and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.7%.
• Institutional investors hold 93.59% of Blue Bird's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 52.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,456 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,091 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.28% of Blue Bird worth $2,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in Blue Bird by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Blue Bird by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at $123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total value of $451,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 58,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,630,193.57. This trade represents a 14.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total transaction of $554,151.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 270,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,290,942.20. The trade was a 4.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,369,666. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Blue Bird Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ BLBD traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $45.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 98,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 527,773. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.26. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. Blue Bird Corporation has a 52 week low of $30.04 and a 52 week high of $55.60. 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 (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 64.83%. The business had revenue of $358.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $348.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLBD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays cut their target price 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, DA Davidson cut 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.79.

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.