Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $6.74 Million in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 174,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,743,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Blue Bird as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 268.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,841,745 shares of the company's stock worth $88,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,259 shares in the last quarter. Castellan Group purchased a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the fourth quarter valued at $7,748,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,084,000 after purchasing an additional 156,298 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 976.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 128,658 shares of the company's stock worth $6,171,000 after purchasing an additional 116,707 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Blue Bird by 169.7% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 141,553 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 89,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.21.

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Blue Bird Stock Performance

Blue Bird stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $33.96. 341,438 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 648,425. Blue Bird Co. has a 12 month low of $30.67 and a 12 month high of $59.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.06 and a 200 day moving average of $40.62.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 75.22%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total transaction of $108,565.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,379,871.68. The trade was a 3.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.