Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Buys Shares of 10,869 Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 440.1% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Finally, New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at $123,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ BLBD opened at $44.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $42.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.50. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $358.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $348.23 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 64.83%. The company's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson cut their target price 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,630,193.57. This trade represents a 14.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 270,766 shares in the company, valued at $11,290,942.20. This trade represents a 4.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,149 shares of company stock worth $1,369,666 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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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