Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $11.03 Million Stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 395.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 285,583 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 227,928 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.89% of Blue Bird worth $11,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 976.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 128,658 shares of the company's stock worth $6,171,000 after buying an additional 116,707 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 60,329 shares of the company's stock worth $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 6,940 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in Blue Bird by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 263,400 shares of the company's stock worth $10,175,000 after purchasing an additional 16,900 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Blue Bird by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 34,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 7,772 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the fourth quarter valued at $262,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD traded down $0.43 on Tuesday, reaching $40.82. The company had a trading volume of 250,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 644,902. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.60. Blue Bird Co. has a twelve month low of $30.04 and a twelve month high of $59.40. 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 (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $348.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price target 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. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 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.