Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $2.82 Million Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 85.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,407 shares of the company’s stock after selling 299,966 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Blue Bird worth $2,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Macroview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at $81,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at $113,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth $120,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BLBD shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $145,071.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,520,541.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Blue Bird news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at $14,669,801.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,520,541.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 61,240 shares of company stock worth $2,960,546. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $53.51 on Tuesday. Blue Bird Co. has a 1 year low of $17.59 and a 1 year high of $59.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.61. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.32.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $333.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.00 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 116.23% and a net margin of 7.65%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 EPS 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.