North Star Investment Management Corp. reduced its holdings in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 32.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,776 shares of the company's stock after selling 53,400 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. owned approximately 0.35% of Blue Bird worth $3,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth approximately $354,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,426,912 shares of the company's stock worth $93,752,000 after purchasing an additional 25,745 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 36.5% during the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 81,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 21,769 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,335,122 shares of the company's stock worth $51,576,000 after purchasing an additional 160,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter worth about $2,790,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
BLBD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays lowered 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.79.
Read Our Latest Research Report on BLBD
Blue Bird Stock Up 0.1%
Shares of BLBD traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.84. 315,365 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 632,166. Blue Bird Corporation has a 1 year low of $30.04 and a 1 year high of $57.80. The firm's fifty day moving average is $37.94 and its 200-day moving average is $37.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.40.
Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $358.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.23 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 64.83% and a net margin of 7.97%. The company's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total value of $554,151.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 270,766 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.
About Blue Bird
(
Free Report)
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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