Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Buys Shares of 252,281 Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 252,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,746,000.

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

Blue Bird Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of BLBD opened at $32.93 on Friday. Blue Bird Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.67 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.44.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blue Bird from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,379,871.68. This trade represents a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.