Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Position in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,041,085 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 135,562 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Blue Bird worth $95,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BLBD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 185.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,283,000 after acquiring an additional 601,690 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 383.1% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 425,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,471,000 after acquiring an additional 337,196 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth about $14,134,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth about $10,932,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 266.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 208,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,027,000 after acquiring an additional 151,976 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blue Bird Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of Blue Bird stock opened at $71.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.38. Blue Bird Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $37.68 and a fifty-two week high of $81.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.94.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $352.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.23 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 53.68% and a net margin of 8.91%.Blue Bird’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total value of $303,939.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 39,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,283,703.94. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 3,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total value of $239,346.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,576,709.90. This represents a 8.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLBD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research lowered Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.80.

Blue Bird Profile

Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ: BLBD) is a leading manufacturer of buses and mass transportation vehicles headquartered in Fort Valley, Georgia. The company’s core business encompasses the design, engineering, and production of school buses and activity buses, with a product lineup that includes conventional (Type C) models, transit-style (Type D) models and specialty configurations for special-needs and activity transport. In recent years, Blue Bird has expanded its offerings to include zero-emission electric school buses, reflecting its commitment to advanced propulsion technologies and environmental sustainability.

Established in 1927, Blue Bird has built a legacy of safety and reliability in student transportation.