EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Takes Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $940,000. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. owned about 0.05% of Blue Bird at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 72.4% during the second quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 50,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,734,000 after purchasing an additional 21,319 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,788,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the second quarter worth $484,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 92,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,990,000 after purchasing an additional 14,186 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Blue Bird stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $49.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 144,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 564,243. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $50.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.72. Blue Bird Co. has a 52-week low of $17.59 and a 52-week high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 154.10% and a net margin of 6.36%. The firm had revenue of $333.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 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 $4,186,636.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,520,541.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total value of $235,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 10,493 shares of company stock valued at $500,855 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

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.