Invesco Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Invesco Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,264 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,707 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.23% of Blue Bird worth $2,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at $132,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at $137,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 4,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BLBD shares. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total transaction of $108,565.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,664 shares in the company, valued at $3,379,871.68. This trade represents a 3.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

NASDAQ:BLBD traded up $1.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.97. The stock had a trading volume of 584,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 668,002. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.44. Blue Bird Co. has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 75.22%. As a group, analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.