Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Stock: VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Lowers Position

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lowered its stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 42.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,900 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned approximately 0.07% of Blue Bird worth $1,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BLBD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the second quarter worth $207,493,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at $94,222,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Blue Bird by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,102,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,669,000 after buying an additional 324,710 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at $63,565,000. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Blue Bird by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 739,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,041,000 after buying an additional 134,881 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, COO Jeffrey Sanfrey sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.40, for a total transaction of $249,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 35,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,184,686.40. The trade was a 10.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blue Bird Trading Up 5.5%

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $61.02 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $58.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 7.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Blue Bird Corporation has a 1-year low of $46.14 and a 1-year high of $83.39.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $517.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.73 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 39.97% and a net margin of 17.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on BLBD. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Roth Capital set a $93.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.33.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) designs, manufactures, and sells school buses in North America. Its product portfolio includes Type A, Type C, and Type D school buses powered by gasoline, diesel, propane, and electric powertrains. The company also provides replacement parts and aftermarket support for its vehicles.

Founded in 1927, Blue Bird is one of the longstanding manufacturers in the school bus industry. Its buses are used by public and private schools, school districts, contractors, and other student transportation providers.