Navellier & Associates Inc. Buys New Stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 36.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,292,000 after purchasing an additional 505,727 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 0.4% during the third 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 81.7% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 279.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 415,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,587,000 after purchasing an additional 305,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 30.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 323,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,405,000 after purchasing an additional 76,036 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total value of $124,923.48. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 80,617 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,532.77. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 32,159 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.93, for a total transaction of $1,573,539.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 299,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,669,801.16. The trade was a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $41.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.62. Blue Bird Co. has a 52 week low of $17.79 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm lowered Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Blue Bird from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.14.

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.