Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Has $3.76 Million Stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,418 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,978 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned about 0.24% of Blue Bird worth $3,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the first quarter worth $83,817,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Blue Bird by 36.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,911,645 shares of the company's stock worth $73,292,000 after acquiring an additional 505,727 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 0.4% in the third quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 635,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,598 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Blue Bird by 81.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 509,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,432,000 after acquiring an additional 229,004 shares during the period. Finally, 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 valued at $15,587,000 after purchasing an additional 305,868 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $145,071.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 51,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,520,541.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, President Britton Smith sold 2,508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $120,384.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 83,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,990,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ted Scartz sold 2,985 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $145,071.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 51,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,520,541.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,240 shares of company stock valued at $2,725,146. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blue Bird Price Performance

NASDAQ BLBD traded up $1.47 on Monday, reaching $43.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,126,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 583,877. Blue Bird Co. has a twelve month low of $17.59 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm's 50 day moving average is $46.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.19. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.62.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.42. Blue Bird had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 116.23%. The business had revenue of $333.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BLBD. Roth Capital lowered Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $72.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Roth Mkm lowered shares of Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Blue Bird 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.