Congress Asset Management Co. Has $6.28 Million Stock Position in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 75.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 109,034 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 46,856 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $6,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position 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 worth $97,849,000 after purchasing an additional 647,637 shares during the period. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC increased its stake in Blue Bird by 7,161.9% during the 1st quarter. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC now owns 231,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,152,000 after purchasing an additional 228,322 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the first quarter worth $5,888,000. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 27.9% in the second quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 823,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,525,000 after buying an additional 179,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 88.1% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 369,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,354,000 after buying an additional 173,253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $51.76 on Monday. Blue Bird Corporation has a 52 week low of $30.04 and a 52 week high of $61.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $52.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 7,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total transaction of $402,313.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 49,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,473,493.93. This trade represents a 13.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 15,381 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $11,363,911.70. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird 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. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.60.

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.