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

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 252,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,746,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned 0.79% of Blue Bird 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. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 268.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,841,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,259 shares during the last quarter. Castellan Group acquired a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,748,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth about $6,743,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Blue Bird by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,228 shares of the company's stock worth $36,084,000 after acquiring an additional 156,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Blue Bird by 976.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 128,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,171,000 after acquiring an additional 116,707 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Blue Bird Stock Down 9.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD traded down $3.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $30.54. 125,447 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 657,332. Blue Bird Co. has a one year low of $30.39 and a one year high of $59.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $980.67 million, a PE ratio of 9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38.

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Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.03. Blue Bird had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 75.22%. On average, equities analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Blue Bird

In related news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $108,565.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,379,871.68. This represents a 3.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Blue Bird from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blue Bird presently has a consensus 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.