Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 174,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,743,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.54% of Blue Bird at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Blue Bird in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the third quarter worth about $38,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Blue Bird by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird in the third quarter worth about $56,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $108,565.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,664 shares in the company, valued at $3,379,871.68. The trade was a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of Blue Bird stock opened at $33.55 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.58. Blue Bird Co. has a twelve month low of $30.67 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.46 and its 200 day moving average is $40.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BLBD shares. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.21.

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.