Barclays PLC Purchases 116,707 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Barclays PLC grew its position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 976.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 128,658 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 116,707 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $6,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BLBD. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In other news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $822,244.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,832,092.83. This represents a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Down 4.7 %

NASDAQ BLBD opened at $40.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.59. Blue Bird Co. has a 1-year low of $24.08 and a 1-year high of $59.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.85 and a 200-day moving average of $47.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLBD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of 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. StockNews.com cut Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Roth Capital lowered Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.64.

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.