Vontobel Holding Ltd. Trims Stock Position in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 10.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,145 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,364 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Blue Bird worth $869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 440.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Blue Bird by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the first quarter worth approximately $102,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Blue Bird by 561.0% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 2,090.5% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Trading Down 1.1%

BLBD opened at $54.84 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.35. Blue Bird Corporation has a 1-year low of $30.04 and a 1-year high of $61.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.29. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 61.66% and a net margin of 8.16%.The company had revenue of $398.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLBD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research upped their target price on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.58.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 6,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $385,163.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 40,794 shares in the company, valued at $2,341,983.54. This trade represents a 14.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,000 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.02, for a total transaction of $767,260.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 240,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,210,009.32. The trade was a 5.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 127,392 shares of company stock valued at $7,342,183. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.