Insider Selling: Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Director Sells 21,129 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Phil Horlock, a director at Blue Bird Corporation, recently sold 21,129 shares of stock for approximately $1.2 million, representing an 8.07% reduction in his ownership.
• Blue Bird's share price has dropped 1.9% to around $57.40, with a market capitalization of $1.82 billion and a 52-week trading range between $30.04 and $60.45.
• Analysts have generally rated Blue Bird positively, with several raising their price targets and ratings, including upgrades to "strong-buy" status from different research firms.

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) Director Phil Horlock sold 21,129 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.18, for a total value of $1,208,156.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 240,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,766,999.88. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Phil Horlock also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 18th, Phil Horlock sold 21,129 shares of Blue Bird stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.16, for a total value of $1,228,862.64.
• On Wednesday, August 13th, Phil Horlock sold 15,848 shares of Blue Bird stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total value of $888,438.88.
• On Friday, August 8th, Phil Horlock sold 30,000 shares of Blue Bird stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,800,000.00.
• On Tuesday, June 10th, Phil Horlock sold 8,860 shares of Blue Bird stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.04, for a total value of $363,614.40.
• On Wednesday, June 11th, Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of Blue Bird stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total value of $554,151.30.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $55.31. 752,417 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 815,057. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $60.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.50. The business's fifty day moving average price is $46.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.86.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.29. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 61.66% and a net margin of 8.16%.The company had revenue of $398.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Blue Bird's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Bird

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLBD. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 23,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $908,000 after acquiring an additional 6,600 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 59,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,293,000 after acquiring an additional 2,357 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Blue Bird in the fourth quarter worth $6,743,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 11,754 shares of the company's stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.