Stifel Financial Corp Invests $1.60 Million in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 33,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,000. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.10% of Blue Bird as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth about $987,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Blue Bird by 34.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,784,000 after acquiring an additional 79,129 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Blue Bird by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after acquiring an additional 25,563 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 360.0% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 105,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,689,000 after acquiring an additional 82,681 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Blue Bird by 60.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 21,919 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $822,244.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,832,092.83. This represents a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD opened at $39.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $41.75 and its 200-day moving average is $47.20. Blue Bird Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.08 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLBD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com cut Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Roth Capital cut Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Mkm lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.64.

About Blue Bird

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.