Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Stock Sold by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al trimmed its position in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 42.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,900 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $1,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the second quarter valued at $63,565,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter worth about $207,493,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,212,000. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 739,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,041,000 after buying an additional 134,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,998,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLBD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Roth Capital set a $93.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.33.

Blue Bird Price Performance

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $61.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company’s 50-day moving average is $58.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.19. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12-month low of $46.14 and a 12-month high of $83.39.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $517.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.73 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 17.48% and a return on equity of 39.97%. Research analysts expect that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In related news, COO Jeffrey Sanfrey sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.40, for a total transaction of $249,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 35,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,184,686.40. This represents a 10.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) designs, manufactures, and sells school buses in North America. Its product portfolio includes Type A, Type C, and Type D school buses powered by gasoline, diesel, propane, and electric powertrains. The company also provides replacement parts and aftermarket support for its vehicles.

Founded in 1927, Blue Bird is one of the longstanding manufacturers in the school bus industry. Its buses are used by public and private schools, school districts, contractors, and other student transportation providers.