Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Takes Position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 252,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,746,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned approximately 0.79% of Blue Bird at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Blue Bird in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Blue Bird during the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 4,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total transaction of $108,565.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,379,871.68. The trade was a 3.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLBD. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.21.

Blue Bird Stock Down 3.0 %

BLBD opened at $32.93 on Friday. Blue Bird Co. has a 52 week low of $30.67 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.58.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 75.22% and a net margin of 8.05%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

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.