The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $1.19 Million Investment in Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 15,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,193,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 85.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 629 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 7.0% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLBD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $93.00 price target on Blue Bird in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Barclays boosted their target price on Blue Bird from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Blue Bird from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Blue Bird from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.33.

Blue Bird Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $63.63 on Friday. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12-month low of $46.14 and a 12-month high of $83.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $70.77 and its 200 day moving average is $66.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.36.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $517.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.73 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 17.48% and a return on equity of 39.97%. Research analysts expect that Blue Bird Corporation will post 4.68 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.