Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 60.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,019 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,919 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $2,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BLBD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 36.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,292,000 after purchasing an additional 505,727 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Blue Bird by 279.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 415,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,587,000 after buying an additional 305,868 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 81.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 509,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,432,000 after acquiring an additional 229,004 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Blue Bird in the second quarter valued at about $11,788,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 414.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 256,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,836,000 after purchasing an additional 206,966 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of BLBD opened at $41.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Blue Bird Co. has a 1-year low of $17.79 and a 1-year high of $59.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BLBD. Barclays raised their price target on Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two investment 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total value of $1,573,539.87. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,669,801.16. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $124,923.48. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,532.77. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.