Whalen Wealth Management Inc. Takes Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth approximately $262,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Blue Bird by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 34,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 7,772 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Blue Bird by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 263,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,175,000 after acquiring an additional 16,900 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Blue Bird by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 59,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after acquiring an additional 14,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 60.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 21,919 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

NASDAQ BLBD opened at $41.17 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.37. Blue Bird Co. has a fifty-two week low of $26.47 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 91.12% and a net margin of 7.83%. On average, equities analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLBD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Craig Hallum raised their price target on Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America decreased their target price 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. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Capital cut Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.64.

Insider Activity

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $822,244.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,832,092.83. The trade was a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

About Blue Bird

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.