Navellier & Associates Inc. Sells 604 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Navellier & Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,336 shares of the company’s stock after selling 604 shares during the quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird in the third quarter worth $26,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 4,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 9.3% in the third 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 lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 13.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Price Performance

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $35.05 on Monday. Blue Bird Co. has a one year low of $29.93 and a one year high of $59.40. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $38.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blue Bird

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,379,871.68. This represents a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on BLBD shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target 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. Craig Hallum upped their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 a consensus price target of $58.21.

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.