Gotham Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 58.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,913 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,574 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned 0.19% of Blue Bird worth $2,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Blue Bird by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Blue Bird by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Blue Bird by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blue Bird Stock Up 1.1%

BLBD stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $41.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 303,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 646,480. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Blue Bird Co. has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $59.40.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm had revenue of $358.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.23 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Blue Bird's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLBD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of 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, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.