SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 75,428 Shares of Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 285.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,855 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 75,428 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $4,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter worth about $10,932,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter valued at about $460,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Blue Bird by 185.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,283,000 after acquiring an additional 601,690 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the third quarter worth about $822,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 10,028.6% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Up 3.5%

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $58.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.40. Blue Bird Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $30.04 and a fifty-two week high of $62.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.55.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.20. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 57.60%. The firm had revenue of $333.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total value of $303,939.68. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 39,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,283,703.94. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 3,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total value of $239,346.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 42,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,576,709.90. This represents a 8.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BLBD. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Blue Bird from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.20.

Blue Bird 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.