Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 47,900 Shares of Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies reduced its Blue Bird stake by 11.5%, selling 47,900 shares and retaining 367,540 shares worth approximately $20.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 93.59% of BLBD.
• Blue Bird exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.00 in earnings per share versus the $0.88 consensus and revenue of $352.63 million versus estimates of $335.23 million, although revenue declined 1.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with seven Buy ratings and two Holds, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $82.17 compared with the stock’s $74.60 opening price.

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 11.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 367,540 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,900 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 1.16% of Blue Bird worth $20,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Blue Bird by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,041,085 shares of the company's stock worth $95,931,000 after purchasing an additional 135,562 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,048,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,257,000 after purchasing an additional 8,430 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Blue Bird by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 865,136 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,661,000 after buying an additional 109,668 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Blue Bird by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 777,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,534,000 after buying an additional 84,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 769,204 shares of the company's stock worth $36,159,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Blue Bird stock opened at $74.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.83. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $74.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.05. Blue Bird Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.95 and a fifty-two week high of $83.39. The stock has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.35.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $352.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.23 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 53.68%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on BLBD. Freedom Capital downgraded Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $86.00 price objective on Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.17.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird Corporation NASDAQ: BLBD is a leading manufacturer of buses and mass transportation vehicles headquartered in Fort Valley, Georgia. The company's core business encompasses the design, engineering, and production of school buses and activity buses, with a product lineup that includes conventional (Type C) models, transit-style (Type D) models and specialty configurations for special-needs and activity transport. In recent years, Blue Bird has expanded its offerings to include zero-emission electric school buses, reflecting its commitment to advanced propulsion technologies and environmental sustainability.

Established in 1927, Blue Bird has built a legacy of safety and reliability in student transportation.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BLBD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.