Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 22,799 Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Blue Bird Corporation by 50.2%, owning 68,171 shares valued at approximately $2.21 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Significant increases in ownership were also reported by other investors, with FMR LLC raising its stake by 162.8% to nearly 4.84 million shares.
• Analyst ratings for Blue Bird recently changed, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock from "buy" to "hold," while others have set price targets ranging from $49.00 to $61.00.

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 50.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,171 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,799 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.21% of Blue Bird worth $2,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 1,879.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 196,739 shares of the company's stock worth $6,479,000 after acquiring an additional 186,799 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 96.0% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 13,303 shares of the company's stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 6,517 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 36.9% during the first quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 26,357 shares of the company's stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 25,745 shares during the period. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position 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 worth $2,634,000 after buying an additional 21,769 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total transaction of $451,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 58,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,630,193.57. This trade represents a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 270,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,290,942.20. This trade represents a 4.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,149 shares of company stock worth $1,369,666. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 92,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 526,617. Blue Bird Corporation has a 1-year low of $30.04 and a 1-year high of $55.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Blue Bird Company Profile

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.