Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,329 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,940 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.19% of Blue Bird worth $2,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLBD. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 43.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 3.4% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Blue Bird by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in 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 purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $822,244.19. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,832,092.83. The trade was a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blue Bird Stock Down 0.7 %

Blue Bird stock opened at $38.85 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.59. Blue Bird Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.08 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BLBD shares. Roth Mkm downgraded Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Roth Capital lowered Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 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.