JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Stake in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

by · The Markets Daily

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD – Free Report) by 185.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 925,852 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 601,690 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $53,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Blue Bird by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 67,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,856,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter worth $98,000. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter valued at $201,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 1.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 109,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,286,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised 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 worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on BLBD. Barclays upped their target price on Blue Bird from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.20.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Blue Bird

Blue Bird Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of BLBD opened at $62.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.45. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $62.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $52.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 3,925 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 42,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,576,709.90. This represents a 8.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 15,381 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 225,385 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,290 shares of company stock valued at $1,417,170. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blue Bird Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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