Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd Has $3.90 Million Stock Position in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd reduced its position in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 51.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 68,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 73,700 shares during the quarter. Blue Bird makes up about 2.1% of Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $3,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Blue Bird by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 30.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 2,090.5% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 3,303 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 12.5% in the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 12,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,799,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on BLBD. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Roth Capital initiated coverage on Blue Bird in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson set a $86.00 price target on Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Blue Bird from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Blue Bird from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.17.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $81.28 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.65. Blue Bird Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.89 and a fifty-two week high of $83.39. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.35. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $352.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $335.23 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 53.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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.