Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Shares Sold by Rice Hall James & Associates LLC

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lowered its position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 23.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,684 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,003 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $4,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 268.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,841,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,259 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Blue Bird by 26.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,084,000 after buying an additional 156,298 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Blue Bird by 8.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 725,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,798,000 after buying an additional 56,449 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Blue Bird by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 641,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,772,000 after buying an additional 5,345 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 327,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,724,000 after acquiring an additional 7,770 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $36.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Blue Bird Co. has a 12 month low of $29.78 and a 12 month high of $59.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $39.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.30.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 75.22%. Research analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $108,565.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,379,871.68. The trade was a 3.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BLBD. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Craig Hallum increased their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.21.

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.