Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 113.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,170 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,703 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of Blue Bird worth $6,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Blue Bird by 159.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Blue Bird by 440.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the first quarter worth $102,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $52.24 on Monday. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $61.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $409.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $380.37 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 62.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Blue Bird has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. Research analysts expect that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BLBD shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 6,709 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $385,163.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 40,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,341,983.54. The trade was a 14.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blue Bird Profile

Blue Bird Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells school buses in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Bus and Parts. It offers Type C, Type D, and specialty buses; and alternative power options through its propane powered, gasoline powered, compressed natural gas powered, and electric powered school buses, as well as diesel engines.