Raymond James & Associates Buys 18,283 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 19.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,957 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,283 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.34% of Blue Bird worth $5,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP raised its position in Blue Bird by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in Blue Bird by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blue Bird in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its position in Blue Bird by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in Blue Bird by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BLBD shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Roth Capital lowered Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Blue Bird from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Roth Mkm lowered Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on Blue Bird in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In related news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $761,227.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,971 shares in the company, valued at $15,715,507.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 16,080 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $761,227.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,971 shares in the company, valued at $15,715,507.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $145,071.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 51,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,520,541.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 56,240 shares of company stock worth $2,725,146. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.07. 411,016 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 581,318. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blue Bird Co. has a 12 month low of $17.59 and a 12 month high of $59.40. The company's 50 day moving average price is $46.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.60.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 116.23% and a net margin of 7.65%. The company had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.