Oberweis Asset Management Inc. Buys 59,800 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Oberweis Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 358,900 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 59,800 shares during the quarter. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. owned 1.12% of Blue Bird worth $13,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Blue Bird by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 89,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,468,000 after acquiring an additional 19,885 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Blue Bird by 305.9% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,296 shares of the company's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 4,745 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 19,679 shares of the company's stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 527,289 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,370,000 after buying an additional 28,460 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 355.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 883,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,126,000 after buying an additional 689,394 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BLBD shares. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.36.

Blue Bird Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:BLBD traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $35.63. 113,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 663,461. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company's 50 day moving average is $34.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.13. Blue Bird Co. has a twelve month low of $30.04 and a twelve month high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 75.22%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $108,565.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,664 shares in the company, valued at $3,379,871.68. This represents a 3.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.10% 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.