Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Stock: Smith Group Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake

Smith Group Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 69.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,527 shares during the quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 85.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 629 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the second quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLBD has been the topic of a number of research reports. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Roth Capital set a $93.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.33.

Blue Bird Price Performance

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $57.17 on Thursday. Blue Bird Corporation has a 52-week low of $46.14 and a 52-week high of $83.39. The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.97.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, COO Jeffrey Sanfrey sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,184,686.40. This represents a 10.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.