Blue Bird Corporation $BLBD Holdings Cut by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,555 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,060 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.19% of Blue Bird worth $2,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Blue Bird by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,358,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,981,000 after buying an additional 23,569 shares during the last quarter. Brookwood Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Blue Bird in the first quarter worth approximately $424,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Blue Bird by 13.6% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 936,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,314,000 after acquiring an additional 112,197 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 1,394.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,619,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Blue Bird by 36.9% in the first quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 26,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 7,110 shares during the last quarter. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Ted Scartz sold 8,877 shares of Blue Bird stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.22, for a total transaction of $490,187.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 48,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,693,024.18. This trade represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phil Horlock sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.02, for a total value of $767,260.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 240,766 shares in the company, valued at $14,210,009.32. This represents a 5.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 86,692 shares of company stock worth $4,968,069 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research cut Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Blue Bird from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Blue Bird from $53.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Blue Bird in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.42.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLBD opened at $50.36 on Monday. Blue Bird Corporation has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $61.95. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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.