Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 30.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,648 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,289 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $1,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BLBD. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the second quarter worth $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 159.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Blue Bird by 2,090.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 3,303 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLBD. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Monday, November 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price target on Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $67.20.

Blue Bird Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $59.99 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.31. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $61.95.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.20. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 57.60%. The company had revenue of $333.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 7,984 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $2,473,493.93. This represents a 13.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 15,381 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 225,385 shares in the company, valued at $11,363,911.70. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.