53,208 Shares in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Acquired by Nicholas Investment Partners LP

Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 53,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,865,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 18,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 3,747.2% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 59,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,608,000 after buying an additional 58,081 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at $89,000. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 47,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,283,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 207,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,597,000 after buying an additional 32,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total value of $235,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,186,636.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,520,541.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total transaction of $235,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,186,636.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,732 shares of company stock valued at $2,835,622. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BLBD shares. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.17.

Blue Bird Trading Up 6.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $47.89 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Blue Bird Co. has a one year low of $17.59 and a one year high of $59.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 1.61.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $333.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.00 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 116.23%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blue Bird 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.