Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Acquires 17,266 Shares of Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 107,722 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,266 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $4,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLBD. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,358,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,981,000 after buying an additional 23,569 shares during the period. Brookwood Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth approximately $424,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 13.6% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 936,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,314,000 after purchasing an additional 112,197 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Blue Bird by 1,394.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,619,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,423,000 after buying an additional 1,511,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castellan Group raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 63.9% in the 1st quarter. Castellan Group now owns 328,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,643,000 after purchasing an additional 128,228 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of BLBD opened at $51.90 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $55.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $61.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blue Bird news, Director Phil Horlock sold 21,129 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.16, for a total value of $1,228,862.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 240,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,002,950.56. This trade represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 6,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $385,163.69. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 40,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,341,983.54. This trade represents a 14.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 40,838 shares of company stock worth $2,381,286 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on BLBD shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $53.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. BTIG Research increased their price target on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.42.

Blue Bird Company 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.