9,832 Shares in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Acquired by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Blue Bird by 220.1% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 1st quarter worth approximately $120,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total transaction of $235,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,926 shares in the company, valued at $4,186,636.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $145,071.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,520,541.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total value of $235,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,926 shares in the company, valued at $4,186,636.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,732 shares of company stock valued at $2,835,622. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Blue Bird stock opened at $48.72 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $49.51 and its 200 day moving average is $44.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.63. Blue Bird Co. has a twelve month low of $17.59 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.00 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 116.23% and a net margin of 7.65%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.