Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $17.27 Million Position in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 362.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 304,196 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 238,379 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $17,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Blue Bird by 210.0% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 222.7% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLBD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Freedom Capital cut Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $78.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Blue Bird from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.17.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of Blue Bird stock opened at $72.32 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.35. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12 month low of $42.95 and a 12 month high of $83.39.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.12. The company 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

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.