6,600 Shares in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Purchased by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,084,000 after buying an additional 156,298 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 8.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 725,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,798,000 after acquiring an additional 56,449 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 641,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,772,000 after acquiring an additional 5,345 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 2.4% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 327,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,724,000 after acquiring an additional 7,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Blue Bird by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 318,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,292,000 after purchasing an additional 9,935 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 2,848 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $108,565.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,664 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $32.43 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $34.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.78. Blue Bird Co. has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $59.40. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.04, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blue Bird Co. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLBD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.