Virtu Financial LLC Has $744,000 Stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,519 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,295 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLBD. FMR LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,341,259 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Blue Bird by 26.2% during the third 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 last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Blue Bird by 8.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 725,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,798,000 after purchasing an additional 56,449 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Blue Bird by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 635,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 81.7% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 509,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,432,000 after purchasing an additional 229,004 shares in the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BLBD shares. Roth Capital downgraded Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Friday. Roth Mkm cut shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their price target on Blue Bird from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.64.

Blue Bird Trading Up 3.7 %

Blue Bird stock opened at $43.71 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.67. Blue Bird Co. has a 52 week low of $23.76 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.37.

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.