Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Trading Up 8.1% After Strong Earnings

Shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) shot up 8.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $54.00 and last traded at $53.7150. 146,056 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 433,577 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.69.

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 return on equity of 60.76% and a net margin of 8.65%.The firm had revenue of $333.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. Blue Bird’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Key Blue Bird News

Here are the key news stories impacting Blue Bird this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat Street expectations: Blue Bird reported $1.00 EPS vs. $0.80 consensus and revenue of ~$333.1M (above estimates), with improving margins and high ROE — a core reason shares are rising. Earnings Release & Materials
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted strong revenue growth and an expanding electric‑vehicle (EV) backlog on the earnings call — reinforcing revenue visibility in EV and fleet replacement markets. Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target to $78 (buy), signaling more upside from current levels and adding buy‑side momentum. Needham PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $65 target, contributing to consensus positive sentiment from analysts. BTIG Reaffirmation
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released slides, transcript and presentation materials from the Q1 call (useful for modeling forward revenue and EV backlog timing). Earnings Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Management updated FY2026 guidance in the release, but the public note looked garbled in some feeds — investors should review the formal press release/slides for clarified EPS and revenue guidance. Conference Materials
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider and institutional selling was reported (multiple executive share disposals and large fund reductions by firms like American Century and FMR), which could limit upside if it persists. Quiver Quantitative Overview
• Negative Sentiment: Operating cash flow slipped year‑over‑year (reported decline in cash from operations) and total liabilities increased — items investors should watch for potential short‑term cash conversion pressure. Balance Sheet Details

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock 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 Thursday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Blue Bird from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 7,984 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 49,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,473,493.93. This represents a 13.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 15,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLBD. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 40.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,267,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,849,000 after purchasing an additional 647,637 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Blue Bird by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,041,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,931,000 after buying an additional 135,562 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 185.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,283,000 after buying an additional 601,690 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 823,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,525,000 after acquiring an additional 179,500 shares during the period. Finally, Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC now owns 483,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,814,000 after acquiring an additional 35,880 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Up 11.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $50.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.47.

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.