Pacer Advisors Inc. Takes $8.30 Million Position in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 256,343 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,298,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 0.80% of Blue Bird at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Blue Bird by 162.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,840,198 shares of the company's stock worth $186,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998,453 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Blue Bird by 355.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 883,404 shares of the company's stock worth $34,126,000 after buying an additional 689,394 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 236.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 774,175 shares of the company's stock worth $29,906,000 after acquiring an additional 544,248 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 540.2% in the fourth quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 540,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,877,000 after acquiring an additional 456,015 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 782,466 shares of the company's stock worth $30,227,000 after acquiring an additional 312,493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total value of $451,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 58,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,630,193.57. The trade was a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total value of $554,151.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 270,766 shares of the company's stock, 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 valued at $1,369,666 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD opened at $46.05 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Blue Bird Corporation has a twelve month low of $30.04 and a twelve month high of $55.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.18 and a 200-day moving average of $38.14.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 64.83%. The business had revenue of $358.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $348.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BLBD. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Three research 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, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.79.

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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