Somerset Trust Co Invests $365,000 in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• Somerset Trust Co acquired a new stake of 8,453 shares in Blue Bird Corporation valued at approximately $365,000 during the second quarter.
• Blue Bird Corporation reported strong quarterly earnings, with $1.19 earnings per share, surpassing estimates and a 19.4% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Major institutional investors own 93.59% of Blue Bird's stock, with several firms significantly increasing their stakes during the first quarter.

Somerset Trust Co purchased a new stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $365,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 1,879.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 196,739 shares of the company's stock worth $6,479,000 after buying an additional 186,799 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,358,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,981,000 after buying an additional 23,569 shares in the last quarter. Brookwood Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the first quarter worth about $424,000. Perpetual Ltd grew its position in Blue Bird by 96.0% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 13,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 36.9% in the first quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 26,357 shares of the company's stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 7,110 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.17. 160,299 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 563,483. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $60.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $52.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.72. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.62.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on BLBD shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.79.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.21, for a total value of $532,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 48,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,564,881.63. The trade was a 17.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,800,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 240,766 shares in the company, 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 have sold 137,392 shares of company stock valued at $7,794,083 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.