Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 365,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,896,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 83,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,925,000 after purchasing an additional 16,501 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Blue Bird by 279.7% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after buying an additional 15,867 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Blue Bird by 161.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 277,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,056,000 after buying an additional 171,642 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,041,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,931,000 after acquiring an additional 135,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Blue Bird in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,998,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLBD has been the topic of a number of research reports. BTIG Research upped their target price on Blue Bird from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Freedom Capital raised Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Blue Bird from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.33.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $59.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.64. Blue Bird Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $46.14 and a fifty-two week high of $83.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 7.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.57 and a 200-day moving average of $66.18.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $517.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.73 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 39.97% and a net margin of 17.48%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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.