Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 13,081 Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in Blue Bird Corporation by 3.6%, selling 13,081 shares, and now holds 346,741 shares valued at approximately $11.22 million.
• Insider trading activity saw Director Phil Horlock and CFO Razvan Radulescu sell a combined total of 23,289 shares in June and July, indicating a decrease in their ownership of the stock.
• Blue Bird Corporation reported a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 64.83% in its latest quarterly earnings, exceeding revenue estimates by posting $358.85 million.

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its position in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 346,741 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,081 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 1.08% of Blue Bird worth $11,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BLBD. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Blue Bird by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in Blue Bird by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Blue Bird by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the fourth quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 270,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,290,942.20. This represents a 4.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total transaction of $451,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,369,666. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of Blue Bird stock opened at $43.33 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $55.60.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Blue Bird's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on BLBD shares. DA Davidson decreased 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 note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.79.

Blue Bird 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.

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