Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Trims Stake in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lowered its stake in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 72,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,850 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $3,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 10,028.6% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 1,742.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter valued at about $98,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 184.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 30.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BLBD shares. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.80.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD opened at $65.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.83. Blue Bird Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $37.68 and a fifty-two week high of $81.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.52.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $352.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $335.23 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 53.68%. The business’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blue Bird news, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total value of $303,939.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 39,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,283,703.94. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.