Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Shares Acquired by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 23.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 506,665 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,793 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 1.60% of Blue Bird worth $29,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 83,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,925,000 after acquiring an additional 16,501 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Blue Bird by 279.7% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 15,867 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its position in Blue Bird by 161.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 277,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,056,000 after purchasing an additional 171,642 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter valued at $10,932,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of BLBD opened at $78.34 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.17. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.83. Blue Bird Corporation has a 52-week low of $42.00 and a 52-week high of $81.51.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.12. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 53.68%. The firm had revenue of $352.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Roth Capital initiated coverage on Blue Bird in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. DA Davidson set a $86.00 target price on Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.50.

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.