Fmr LLC Grows Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Fmr LLC lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 268.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,841,745 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,341,259 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned about 5.69% of Blue Bird worth $88,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 3.4% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the second quarter worth $29,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 22.5% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $124,923.48. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 80,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,015,532.77. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLBD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.64.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

BLBD stock opened at $40.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Blue Bird Co. has a 1 year low of $20.50 and a 1 year high of $59.40. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.23.

Blue Bird Company Profile

Blue Bird Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells school buses in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Bus and Parts. It offers Type C, Type D, and specialty buses; and alternative power options through its propane powered, gasoline powered, compressed natural gas powered, and electric powered school buses, as well as diesel engines.