UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $2.01 Million Holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 37.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,254 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.16% of Blue Bird worth $2,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter worth approximately $354,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Blue Bird by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,426,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,752,000 after purchasing an additional 25,745 shares during the last quarter. Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the fourth quarter valued at $2,790,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Blue Bird by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 318,188 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,292,000 after purchasing an additional 9,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Blue Bird by 169.7% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 141,553 shares of the company's stock worth $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 89,068 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blue Bird Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $40.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 268,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 634,897. Blue Bird Co. has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $59.40. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $36.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $358.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $348.23 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on BLBD shares. DA Davidson reduced their target price 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.