Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Boosts Stock Holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,230 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,180 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.13% of Blue Bird worth $1,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Blue Bird by 162.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,840,198 shares of the company's stock worth $186,977,000 after acquiring an additional 2,998,453 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Blue Bird by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,426,912 shares of the company's stock worth $93,752,000 after purchasing an additional 25,745 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,933,278 shares of the company's stock worth $74,683,000 after purchasing an additional 241,117 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,335,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,576,000 after buying an additional 160,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 355.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 883,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,126,000 after buying an additional 689,394 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Phil Horlock sold 8,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.04, for a total value of $363,614.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 270,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,112,236.64. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blue Bird Stock Down 1.1%

BLBD traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.80. 318,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 635,435. Blue Bird Co. has a 1 year low of $30.04 and a 1 year high of $57.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $358.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $348.23 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Blue Bird 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.