The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 2,491 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 26.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,089 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,491 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLBD. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the 1st quarter valued at about $83,817,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,292,000 after buying an additional 505,727 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 81.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 509,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,432,000 after buying an additional 229,004 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 279.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 415,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,587,000 after acquiring an additional 305,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 91.5% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 329,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,636,000 after acquiring an additional 157,468 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $124,923.48. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 80,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,015,532.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $124,923.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,532.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $761,227.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,715,507.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,240 shares of company stock valued at $2,725,146 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLBD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Roth Capital lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Mkm lowered Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Blue Bird in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Blue Bird Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $44.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $48.05 and its 200 day moving average is $47.58. Blue Bird Co. has a 1 year low of $17.59 and a 1 year high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blue Bird Company 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.