Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Hits New 52-Week High at $53.50

Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $53.50 and last traded at $53.20, with a volume of 353475 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLBD. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Blue Bird from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on Blue Bird from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.50.

Blue Bird Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $36.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Asp Bb Holdings Llc sold 4,042,650 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.90, for a total transaction of $133,003,185.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Blue Bird news, major shareholder Asp Bb Holdings Llc sold 4,042,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.90, for a total transaction of $133,003,185.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total transaction of $208,575.72. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 87,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,922,002.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,115,159 shares of company stock valued at $135,385,519. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the 1st quarter valued at about $83,817,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Blue Bird by 36.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,292,000 after acquiring an additional 505,727 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 783.6% during the third quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 439,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,376,000 after acquiring an additional 389,459 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 245.7% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 509,002 shares of the company's stock worth $10,867,000 after purchasing an additional 361,763 shares during the period. Finally, Brightline Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 4th quarter worth $7,279,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company's stock.

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.