Royce & Associates LP Has $9.37 Million Stake in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 162,817 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,454 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.51% of Blue Bird worth $9,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,267,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,849,000 after acquiring an additional 647,637 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 601,690 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth $6,359,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the second quarter valued at about $3,799,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 113.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 146,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,309,000 after buying an additional 77,703 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 7,984 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total value of $402,313.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 49,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,473,493.93. This trade represents a 13.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 15,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total value of $775,510.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 225,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,363,911.70. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,290 shares of company stock valued at $1,417,170. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $57.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $52.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.86. Blue Bird Corporation has a 52 week low of $30.04 and a 52 week high of $62.90.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.20. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 57.60%. The company had revenue of $333.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLBD. DA Davidson raised their target price on Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $67.20.

Blue Bird Company 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.