Ieq Capital LLC Makes New $2.17 Million Investment in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 27,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,165,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Blue Bird by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 2,090.5% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 3,303 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 12.5% in the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 12,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the second quarter valued at about $3,799,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Roth Capital set a $93.00 price target on Blue Bird in a research report on Monday, August 10th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays upped 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, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blue Bird has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.33.

Blue Bird Price Performance

BLBD stock opened at $58.65 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $73.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.14. Blue Bird Corporation has a 52-week low of $46.14 and a 52-week high of $83.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 7.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 39.97% and a net margin of 17.48%.The company had revenue of $517.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.73 million. Analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.68 earnings per share 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.