International Assets Investment Management LLC Invests $39.10 Million in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 81,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,100,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned 0.25% of Blue Bird at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the first quarter valued at $83,817,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Blue Bird by 36.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,292,000 after buying an additional 505,727 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in Blue Bird by 279.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 415,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,587,000 after buying an additional 305,868 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in 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. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the second quarter valued at $11,788,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $120,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 83,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,990,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total value of $1,573,539.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at $14,669,801.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $120,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 83,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,990,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,240 shares of company stock worth $2,725,146 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD opened at $42.43 on Monday. Blue Bird Co. has a 1-year low of $17.59 and a 1-year high of $59.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.86. 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 (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 116.23%. The business had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.00 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Capital downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

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.