Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Stake Increased by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 26.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,489 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 933 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BLBD. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 162.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,840,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,977,000 after acquiring an additional 2,998,453 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 355.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 883,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,126,000 after acquiring an additional 689,394 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 236.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 774,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,906,000 after acquiring an additional 544,248 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 540.2% during the fourth quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 540,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,877,000 after acquiring an additional 456,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 782,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,227,000 after acquiring an additional 312,493 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blue Bird Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $45.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.48 and its 200-day moving average is $38.26. Blue Bird Corporation has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $55.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $358.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $348.23 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 64.83% and a net margin of 7.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total value of $451,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,630,193.57. This trade represents a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,289 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total transaction of $554,151.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 270,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,290,942.20. The trade was a 4.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,149 shares of company stock worth $1,369,666. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.79.

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.