Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Buys 96,793 Shares of Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 23.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 506,665 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,793 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $29,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BLBD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Blue Bird by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,041,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,931,000 after acquiring an additional 135,562 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,048,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,257,000 after purchasing an additional 8,430 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Blue Bird by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 865,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,661,000 after buying an additional 109,668 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Blue Bird by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 777,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,534,000 after acquiring an additional 84,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 769,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of Blue Bird stock opened at $78.34 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $73.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.35. Blue Bird Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.00 and a fifty-two week high of $81.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 53.68%. The company had revenue of $352.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BLBD shares. DA Davidson set a $86.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Blue Bird from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.