Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 640,353 shares of the company’s stock after selling 182,743 shares during the quarter. Blue Bird makes up about 1.8% of Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. owned 2.02% of Blue Bird worth $36,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 159.9% in the second 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. 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 2,090.5% during the 1st 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 last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other Blue Bird news, Director Phil Horlock sold 15,381 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total value of $775,510.02. Following the sale, the director owned 225,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,363,911.70. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 7,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total value of $402,313.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 49,087 shares in the company, valued at $2,473,493.93. The trade was a 13.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $49.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $50.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.84. Blue Bird Corporation has a twelve month low of $30.04 and a twelve month high of $61.95.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $409.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $380.37 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 62.87% and a net margin of 8.63%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

About Blue Bird

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.