Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Director Phil Horlock Sells 15,381 Shares of Stock

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) Director Phil Horlock sold 15,381 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total value of $775,510.02. Following the sale, the director owned 225,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,363,911.70. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of Blue Bird stock opened at $51.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Blue Bird Corporation has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $61.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.42.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.35. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 62.87%. The firm had revenue of $409.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $380.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.60.

Institutional Trading of Blue Bird

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 10,028.6% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 159.9% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Blue Bird by 440.1% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.