Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 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 SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 60.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 58,019 shares of the company's stock worth $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 21,919 shares during the period. Encompass More Asset Management purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the 4th quarter worth about $1,376,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Blue Bird in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blue Bird by 26.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,228 shares of the company's stock worth $36,084,000 after purchasing an additional 156,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the fourth quarter valued at about $315,000. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on BLBD shares. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Blue Bird from $67.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Blue Bird Trading Down 0.6 %

BLBD traded down $0.23 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $35.37. 40,669 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 663,178. The company's fifty day moving average price is $34.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.13. Blue Bird Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.04 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts forecast that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Blue Bird 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.