Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Shares Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 279.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 21,540 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,867 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Blue Bird by 10,028.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 1,742.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter valued at $98,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Blue Bird by 184.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ BLBD opened at $70.19 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $63.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.25. Blue Bird Corporation has a one year low of $37.68 and a one year high of $81.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.83. The company has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.38.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.12. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 53.68% and a net margin of 8.91%.The business had revenue of $352.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.23 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total transaction of $303,939.68. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 39,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,283,703.94. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.