Schroder Investment Management Group Acquires 10,624 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,734 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,624 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.25% of Blue Bird worth $3,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth about $132,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the fourth quarter valued at $3,349,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth $9,746,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Blue Bird by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 306,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,832,000 after acquiring an additional 5,109 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 3.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $32.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.99 and its 200-day moving average is $39.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Blue Bird Co. has a 1-year low of $30.04 and a 1-year high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. Equities research analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLBD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.