Creative Planning Buys 707 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Creative Planning increased its stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 13.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,937 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the first quarter worth approximately $83,817,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Blue Bird by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,292,000 after buying an additional 505,727 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 279.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 415,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,587,000 after acquiring an additional 305,868 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 81.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 509,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,432,000 after acquiring an additional 229,004 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the second quarter valued at about $11,788,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In related news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 331,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,715,507.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 83,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,990,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,971 shares in the company, valued at $15,715,507.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,240 shares of company stock worth $2,725,146. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $41.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Blue Bird Co. has a 1 year low of $17.65 and a 1 year high of $59.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.06 and a 200 day moving average of $48.28.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 116.23% and a net margin of 7.65%. The business had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on BLBD shares. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Blue Bird in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Roth Mkm cut shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.00.

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.