Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd Has $3.90 Million Stake in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Key Points

• Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd cut its Blue Bird stake by 51.8% in the first quarter, selling 73,700 shares and leaving it with 68,600 shares worth about $3.9 million. The position still represented 2.1% of Quantedge’s portfolio.
• Blue Bird has strong institutional ownership, with 93.59% of shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds. Other funds also made smaller additions to their positions during the period.
• Analysts remain largely positive on BLBD, with seven Buy ratings and a consensus Moderate Buy rating. The average price target is $82.17, while the stock recently traded at $81.28 after the company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates.

Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd trimmed its stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 51.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,600 shares of the company's stock after selling 73,700 shares during the period. Blue Bird comprises about 2.1% of Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd owned 0.22% of Blue Bird worth $3,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,208 shares of the company's stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 4,464 shares of the company's stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 210.0% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 775 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 222.7% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 823 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BLBD. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson set a $86.00 target price on Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.17.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $81.28 on Wednesday. Blue Bird Corporation has a 1 year low of $42.89 and a 1 year high of $83.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm's 50 day moving average is $73.61 and its 200-day moving average is $62.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.35.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.12. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 53.68%. The business had revenue of $352.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. Blue Bird's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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