PFG Advisors Acquires 2,940 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

PFG Advisors increased its holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 43.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,738 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Blue Bird were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Blue Bird by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

NASDAQ BLBD opened at $34.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.45. Blue Bird Co. has a twelve month low of $30.67 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BLBD. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blue Bird currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total transaction of $108,565.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,379,871.68. This represents a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.