Koss Olinger Consulting LLC Purchases Shares of 15,732 Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Key Points

• Koss Olinger Consulting LLC recently acquired 15,732 shares of Blue Bird Corporation for approximately $509,000, marking a significant investment in the company.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Blue Bird, with FMR LLC raising its holdings by 162.8% in the previous quarter, significantly boosting its position.
• Analysts have mixed views on Blue Bird, with recent ratings showing two "hold", six "buy", and one "strong buy" ratings, alongside varied price target adjustments ranging from $50.00 to $67.00.

Koss Olinger Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 15,732 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $509,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BLBD. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 440.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,442 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised 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 during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted 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. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 5,165.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,949 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,874 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $56.43. 364,313 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 561,689. Blue Bird Corporation has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $60.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.60 and a 200-day moving average of $38.87.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $398.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $377.64 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 61.66%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BLBD. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on 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 raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.36.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.22, for a total value of $490,187.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 48,769 shares in the company, valued at $2,693,024.18. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 30,000 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,800,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 240,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,445,960. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 81,726 shares of company stock valued at $4,233,968. Company 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.