Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC Makes New $346,000 Investment in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLBD. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 34.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,784,000 after purchasing an additional 79,129 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 37.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,000 after acquiring an additional 4,515 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Blue Bird by 268.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,841,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,259 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 9.3% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Blue Bird by 14.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $108,565.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,379,871.68. The trade was a 3.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blue Bird Stock Up 1.6 %

BLBD opened at $32.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38. Blue Bird Co. has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $59.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. Equities research analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on BLBD. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blue Bird currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.21.

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.