ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Takes $203,000 Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new stake in Blue Bird in the first quarter worth about $2,134,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 104.8% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 49,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 25,102 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 33.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 63,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,000 after acquiring an additional 15,900 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 2,177.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 55,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 52,912 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blue Bird news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,669,801.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total transaction of $1,573,539.87. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares in the company, valued at $14,669,801.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $120,384.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 83,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,990,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,240 shares of company stock worth $2,725,146. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLBD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blue Bird has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $45.38 on Friday. Blue Bird Co. has a twelve month low of $17.59 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.93 and its 200 day moving average is $47.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.60.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 116.23%. The company had revenue of $333.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 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.