Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Acquires Shares of 2,430 Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tucker Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 568.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 3,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth $205,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the fourth quarter valued at about $222,000. Raymond James & Associates acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth about $258,000. Finally, Clough Capital Partners L P acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth about $275,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total value of $208,575.72. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 87,250 shares in the company, valued at $2,922,002.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total transaction of $208,575.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 87,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,922,002.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Asp Bb Holdings Llc sold 4,042,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.90, for a total value of $133,003,185.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,207,597 shares of company stock valued at $138,285,973 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on BLBD. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.42.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $34.52 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. Blue Bird Co. has a 1-year low of $17.59 and a 1-year high of $39.01.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $317.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.00 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 223.85% and a net margin of 5.04%. Research analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.