New York State Common Retirement Fund Raises Stock Holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 240.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,477 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,542 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.25% of Blue Bird worth $2,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 220.1% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 8.0% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 13,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 25,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 568.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 3,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total transaction of $208,575.72. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 87,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,922,002.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Gurminder S. Bedi sold 8,719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total value of $274,212.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,896 shares in the company, valued at $594,279.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total value of $208,575.72. Following the transaction, the president now owns 87,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,922,002.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,132,597 shares of company stock valued at $135,960,973 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BLBD. Barclays raised their price target on Blue Bird from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.42.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $37.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.40. Blue Bird Co. has a 52-week low of $17.59 and a 52-week high of $39.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $317.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.00 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 223.85% and a net margin of 5.04%. On average, equities analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 2.22 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.