Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Grows Position in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 409,872 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,801 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 1.29% of Blue Bird worth $19,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Blue Bird by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 46,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,168,000 after acquiring an additional 6,133 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 112,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,275,000 after buying an additional 3,191 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Blue Bird by 285.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 101,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,787,000 after buying an additional 75,428 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter worth $10,932,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the third quarter valued at about $460,000. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of Blue Bird stock opened at $58.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $55.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Blue Bird Corporation has a twelve month low of $30.04 and a twelve month high of $62.90.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $333.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.74 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 57.60% and a net margin of 8.65%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on Blue Bird from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Blue Bird from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blue Bird currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total value of $303,939.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 39,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,283,703.94. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 3,925 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total transaction of $239,346.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,576,709.90. The trade was a 8.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.