XTX Topco Ltd Sells 3,584 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

XTX Topco Ltd trimmed its position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 41.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,976 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,584 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLBD. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 207,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,597,000 after acquiring an additional 32,334 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $646,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 303.3% during the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 38,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 29,170 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,702,000. Finally, Brightline Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,279,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $14,669,801.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,990,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,669,801.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,240 shares of company stock worth $2,960,546. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

NASDAQ BLBD opened at $48.45 on Friday. Blue Bird Co. has a 1 year low of $17.59 and a 1 year high of $59.40. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.54.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its 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 analysts’ expectations of $330.00 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 116.23%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. 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.