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Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Acquires 468,936 Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Blue Bird logo with Auto/Tires/Trucks background

Key Points

  • Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its ownership of Blue Bird Corporation by 24.3%, acquiring an additional 468,936 shares, bringing its total holdings to 2,402,214 shares worth approximately $77.76 million.
  • Blue Bird reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.96, slightly exceeding analyst estimates of $0.95, with revenue of $358.85 million, a 3.7% increase compared to the previous year.
  • Insider trading saw significant activity, with CFO Razvan Radulescu and Director Phil Horlock selling a combined total of 23,289 shares of Blue Bird, reflecting a decrease in their ownership stakes.
  • Interested in Blue Bird? Here are five stocks we like better.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 24.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,402,214 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 468,936 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 7.48% of Blue Bird worth $77,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ruffer LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 79,018 shares of the company's stock worth $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 6,789 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the 1st quarter valued at $352,000. Castellan Group lifted its position in Blue Bird by 63.9% in the first quarter. Castellan Group now owns 328,802 shares of the company's stock worth $10,643,000 after buying an additional 128,228 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 440.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,442 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc increased its position in Blue Bird by 9.0% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 14,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Blue Bird stock opened at $44.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.27. Blue Bird Corporation has a 1 year low of $30.04 and a 1 year high of $55.60.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $358.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.23 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 64.83% and a net margin of 7.97%. Blue Bird's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total value of $554,151.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 270,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,290,942.20. The trade was a 4.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,369,666 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

View Our Latest Analysis on Blue Bird

Blue Bird Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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