Seven Eight Capital LP Has $1.98 Million Stock Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 347.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,752 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 28,539 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP owned approximately 0.11% of Blue Bird worth $1,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BLBD. Covestor Ltd acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth approximately $120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Craig Hallum increased their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Blue Bird has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $61.17.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

NASDAQ BLBD opened at $51.13 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.81. Blue Bird Co. has a 1 year low of $17.59 and a 1 year high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $333.37 million for 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $761,227.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 331,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,715,507.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total value of $235,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,186,636.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,715,507.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,240 shares of company stock valued at $2,960,546 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.