Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 113.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 146,170 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,703 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $6,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BLBD. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,402,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,760,000 after buying an additional 468,936 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 1,394.9% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,619,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,158 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,358,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,981,000 after purchasing an additional 23,569 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 936,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,314,000 after purchasing an additional 112,197 shares during the period. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 823,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,525,000 after purchasing an additional 179,500 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BLBD. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 6,709 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $385,163.69. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blue Bird Stock Down 0.9%

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 stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.35. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 62.87%. The company had revenue of $409.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $380.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Blue Bird has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

About Blue Bird

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.