Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 47,735 Shares of Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its holdings in Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 35.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 47,735 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 0.28% of Blue Bird worth $5,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 30.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the third quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 184.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the third quarter valued at approximately $167,000. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America increased 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. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Thursday, February 5th. 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, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.20.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $54.74 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.86. Blue Bird Corporation has a twelve month low of $30.04 and a twelve month high of $62.90.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $333.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.74 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 57.60% and a net margin of 8.65%.Blue Bird’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, COO Jeffrey Scott Sanfrey sold 5,192 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.54, for a total transaction of $303,939.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 39,011 shares in the company, valued at $2,283,703.94. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 7,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 49,087 shares in the company, valued at $2,473,493.93. This trade represents a 13.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,482 shares of company stock worth $1,721,110 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.