Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Director Sells $1,800,000.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Phil Horlock, a director at Blue Bird Corporation, sold 30,000 shares of stock at an average price of $60.00, resulting in a total transaction of $1.8 million, reducing his ownership by 11.08%.
• Blue Bird's stock has experienced a significant increase in revenue, reporting $398.01 million for the quarter, which is a 19.4% year-over-year increase.
• Analysts have set an average target price of $57.36 for Blue Bird shares, with the company receiving several upgrades and a typical rating of "Moderate Buy".

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) Director Phil Horlock sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 240,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,445,960. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• On Wednesday, August 13th, Phil Horlock sold 15,848 shares of Blue Bird stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total value of $888,438.88.
• 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 BLBD traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $57.37. 764,718 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,276. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.50. Blue Bird Corporation has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $60.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Blue Bird by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares during the period. Man Group plc raised its holdings in Blue Bird by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 123,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,351,000 after buying an additional 4,717 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Blue Bird by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 29,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,262,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares during the period. HRT Financial LP purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,547,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Blue Bird by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 253,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,944,000 after buying an additional 42,975 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLBD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.36.

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.