Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 5,844 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Ritholtz Wealth Management reduced its position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 32.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,033 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,844 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 268.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,841,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,330,000 after buying an additional 1,341,259 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Blue Bird by 414.2% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 256,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,836,000 after purchasing an additional 206,966 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 26.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,084,000 after purchasing an additional 156,298 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in Blue Bird by 976.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 128,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,171,000 after buying an additional 116,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the second quarter worth about $5,719,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLBD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Roth Mkm lowered Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their target price on Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $822,244.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,832,092.83. This trade represents a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blue Bird Price Performance

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $42.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.56 and its 200 day moving average is $45.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Blue Bird Co. has a 12 month low of $25.66 and a 12 month high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.73. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 91.12% and a net margin of 7.83%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.