Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 223,849 shares of the company’s stock after selling 124,227 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $12,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. PFG Advisors increased its position in Blue Bird by 2.6% during the second quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 9,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 40,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 34,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 159.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $50.31 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.28. The company has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.74. Blue Bird Corporation has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $61.95.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $409.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $380.37 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 62.87% and a net margin of 8.63%.Blue Bird’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Phil Horlock sold 15,381 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total transaction of $775,510.02. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 7,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total transaction of $402,313.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 49,087 shares in the company, valued at $2,473,493.93. This represents a 13.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on BLBD. Bank of America boosted their price target on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research lowered Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.60.

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.