Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Shares Acquired by Royce & Associates LP

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Blue Bird by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 177,924 shares valued at about $8.36 million.
• Blue Bird’s latest quarterly results beat analyst expectations, reporting EPS of $1.00 versus $0.88 expected and revenue of $352.64 million versus $335.23 million anticipated.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with a $75.80 price target, while several firms raised targets after earnings even as a few downgraded the name.

Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 177,924 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,107 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.56% of Blue Bird worth $8,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,041,085 shares of the company's stock worth $95,931,000 after acquiring an additional 135,562 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 185.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company's stock worth $53,283,000 after purchasing an additional 601,690 shares during the period. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC now owns 483,310 shares of the company's stock worth $27,814,000 after purchasing an additional 35,880 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 383.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 425,214 shares of the company's stock worth $24,471,000 after purchasing an additional 337,196 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 409,872 shares of the company's stock worth $19,166,000 after purchasing an additional 46,801 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blue Bird Price Performance

BLBD stock opened at $70.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.38. The business's 50-day moving average is $63.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.25. Blue Bird Corporation has a 1 year low of $37.68 and a 1 year high of $81.51.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $352.64 million for 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 revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other news, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total transaction of $303,939.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 39,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,283,703.94. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BLBD. Barclays increased their price target on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research cut Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Freedom Capital cut Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.

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