Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 6,533 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,278 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,533 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $1,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth approximately $370,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,702,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 44,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 11,793 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 2,177.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 55,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 52,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 104.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 49,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 25,102 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blue Bird Stock Up 1.8 %

Blue Bird stock opened at $45.68 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $17.59 and a 12-month high of $59.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $48.00 and its 200 day moving average is $47.56. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.60.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 116.23%. The company had revenue of $333.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $124,923.48. Following the transaction, the president now owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,532.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $124,923.48. Following the transaction, the president now owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,532.77. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 owns 51,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,520,541.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,240 shares of company stock worth $2,725,146 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.00.

Blue Bird Company Profile

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.