Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Shares Sold by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

Dark Forest Capital Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,490 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,955 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the second quarter valued at about $81,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $113,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In related news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,669,801.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $120,384.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 83,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,990,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total transaction of $1,573,539.87. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,669,801.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 61,240 shares of company stock valued at $2,960,546. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD opened at $51.03 on Friday. 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 $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.51.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Blue Bird

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.