Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Shares Sold by Driehaus Capital Management LLC

Driehaus Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 50.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 300,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 305,341 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $11,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Blue Bird by 976.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 128,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,171,000 after buying an additional 116,707 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 60,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after acquiring an additional 6,940 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Blue Bird by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 263,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,175,000 after purchasing an additional 16,900 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 34,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 7,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at $262,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on BLBD shares. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on Blue Bird from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blue Bird has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.79.

Blue Bird Price Performance

BLBD stock opened at $37.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.74. Blue Bird Co. has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 75.22%. The business had revenue of $358.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $108,565.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,379,871.68. The trade was a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.