New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC significantly increased its stake in Blue Bird Corporation by 7,161.9% in the first quarter, acquiring a total of 231,510 shares valued at approximately $7.15 million.
• Recent insider transactions revealed that key executives, including SVP Ted Scartz and Director Phil Horlock, have sold significant shares, leading to a 15.40% and 11.08% decrease in their respective positions.
• According to analysts, Blue Bird's current average rating stands at "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $57.36, indicating positive market sentiment despite varying price objectives among research firms.

New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC grew its position in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 7,161.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 231,510 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 228,322 shares during the period. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC owned about 0.72% of Blue Bird worth $7,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Blue Bird by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 527,289 shares of the company's stock worth $20,370,000 after purchasing an additional 28,460 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 305,883 shares of the company's stock worth $11,816,000 after buying an additional 29,868 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 13,242 shares of the company's stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 45,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 3,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 195,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,555,000 after acquiring an additional 46,237 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.22, for a total transaction of $490,187.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 48,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,693,024.18. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 240,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,445,960. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,541 shares of company stock valued at $8,711,849 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on BLBD. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.36.

Blue Bird Price Performance

BLBD opened at $58.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.12. Blue Bird Corporation has a twelve month low of $30.04 and a twelve 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. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.62.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 61.66%. The company had revenue of $398.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.64 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Blue Bird's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

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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