Sankala Group LLC Takes $504,000 Position in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $504,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 185.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,283,000 after purchasing an additional 601,690 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Blue Bird by 197.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 712,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,497,000 after buying an additional 472,990 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Blue Bird by 383.1% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 425,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,471,000 after buying an additional 337,196 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,134,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth approximately $10,932,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BLBD. Barclays increased their price objective on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Freedom Capital cut shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $86.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.80.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Blue Bird stock opened at $73.99 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.42. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.37. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12 month low of $41.76 and a 12 month high of $81.51.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $352.63 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 firm earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

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.