Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,231 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,534 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BLBD. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the first quarter valued at about $2,134,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter valued at $987,000. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Blue Bird by 33.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 63,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,000 after buying an additional 15,900 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 36.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,292,000 after acquiring an additional 505,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the first quarter valued at $4,000,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BLBD. Roth Capital downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Blue Bird from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.14.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value 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. This represents a 2.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total value of $1,573,539.87. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,669,801.16. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 53,255 shares of company stock worth $2,580,075. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blue Bird Price Performance

BLBD stock opened at $36.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.45. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blue Bird Co. has a 12-month low of $17.79 and a 12-month high of $59.40.

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.