Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $4.75 Million Stock Position in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL has decreased its stake in Blue Bird Corporation by 6.6%, now holding a position worth approximately $4.75 million.
• Blue Bird reported its quarterly earnings, achieving an EPS of $1.19, surpassing expectations, and a year-over-year revenue increase of 19.4%.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Blue Bird shares from a "hold" to a "strong-buy", with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.36.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,866 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,300 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned approximately 0.46% of Blue Bird worth $4,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 440.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 55.0% in 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 in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 44.1% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth about $102,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of BLBD opened at $58.17 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $47.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.50. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $60.45. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $398.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.64 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 61.66% and a net margin of 8.16%.The company's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on BLBD shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.36.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total value of $42,014.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 47,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,851,130.06. This trade represents a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 21,129 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.16, for a total transaction of $1,228,862.64. Following the sale, the director directly owned 240,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,002,950.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,832 shares of company stock worth $7,559,425 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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