Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 104.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,057 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,102 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Blue Bird worth $1,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 8.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,028,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,304,000 after acquiring an additional 160,233 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 13.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,206,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,754,000 after acquiring an additional 144,697 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 828,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,332,000 after acquiring an additional 101,482 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 38.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 339,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,244,000 after acquiring an additional 94,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brightline Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,279,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BLBD shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $44.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Blue Bird from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Blue Bird from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Blue Bird from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their target price on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.25.

Blue Bird Price Performance

NASDAQ:BLBD traded down $1.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.71. 187,707 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 558,478. Blue Bird Co. has a one year low of $17.59 and a one year high of $59.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $50.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.52. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 154.10% and a net margin of 6.36%. The firm had revenue of $345.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.00 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 2.46 EPS for the current 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.