Encompass More Asset Management Makes New $1.38 Million Investment in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Encompass More Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 35,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,376,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the third quarter valued at about $56,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Capital cut shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $822,244.19. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,832,092.83. This trade represents a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $39.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.58. Blue Bird Co. has a 52 week low of $27.36 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.73. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 91.12% and a net margin of 7.83%. On average, analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.