2,100 Shares in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Acquired by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BLBD. Seven Eight Capital LP raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 347.5% in the second quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 36,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,979,000 after buying an additional 28,539 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Blue Bird by 81.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 509,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,432,000 after acquiring an additional 229,004 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 30.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 323,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,405,000 after acquiring an additional 76,036 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter valued at about $510,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the second quarter worth about $81,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

NASDAQ BLBD opened at $48.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blue Bird Co. has a 12-month low of $17.59 and a 12-month high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.00 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLBD. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America lifted 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. DA Davidson increased their target price 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 set a $72.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total transaction of $235,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,186,636.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $145,071.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,520,541.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total value of $235,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,186,636.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,240 shares of company stock valued at $2,960,546 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.