Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 58,081 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 3,747.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,631 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 58,081 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.19% of Blue Bird worth $1,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Blue Bird by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 18,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $497,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Blue Bird by 240.4% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 81,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,197,000 after acquiring an additional 57,542 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Blue Bird by 220.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 115.7% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 179,623 shares of the company's stock worth $4,843,000 after purchasing an additional 96,339 shares during the period. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 26,547 shares of the company's stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 5,191 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Blue Bird stock traded up $0.62 on Friday, reaching $53.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 631,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 547,269. Blue Bird Co. has a twelve month low of $17.59 and a twelve month high of $54.26. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.23. The business's fifty day moving average price is $37.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gurminder S. Bedi sold 8,719 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total transaction of $274,212.55. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at $594,279.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Gurminder S. Bedi sold 8,719 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total value of $274,212.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $594,279.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Asp Bb Holdings Llc sold 4,042,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.90, for a total value of $133,003,185.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,057,597 shares of company stock worth $133,485,973 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Blue Bird from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.50.

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.