Cwm LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Cwm LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 220.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,290 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 887 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $35,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 783.6% during the 3rd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 439,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,376,000 after purchasing an additional 389,459 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in Blue Bird by 245.7% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 509,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,867,000 after acquiring an additional 361,763 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the third quarter worth about $5,685,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 496.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 221,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,723,000 after acquiring an additional 184,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,028,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,304,000 after acquiring an additional 160,233 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLBD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Blue Bird from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Blue Bird from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

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 value of $208,575.72. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 87,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,922,002.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total transaction of $208,575.72. Following the sale, the president now owns 87,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,922,002.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Asp Bb Holdings Llc sold 4,042,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.90, for a total transaction of $133,003,185.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,115,159 shares of company stock valued at $135,385,519 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blue Bird Trading Up 24.5 %

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $46.72 on Friday. Blue Bird Co. has a 1 year low of $17.59 and a 1 year high of $49.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.52. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 223.85% and a net margin of 5.04%. The company had revenue of $317.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.00 million. As a group, analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Blue Bird 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.