Hodges Capital Management Inc. Has $3.80 Million Holdings in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) by 37.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 99,070 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60,085 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Blue Bird were worth $3,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BLBD. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 245.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 509,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,867,000 after purchasing an additional 361,763 shares during the period. Brightline Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blue Bird in the 4th quarter valued at $7,279,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,028,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,304,000 after purchasing an additional 160,233 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,206,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,754,000 after purchasing an additional 144,697 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Blue Bird by 864.1% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 160,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,325,000 after purchasing an additional 143,797 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $54.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $44.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Blue Bird currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.25.

Blue Bird Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of BLBD stock opened at $53.85 on Friday. Blue Bird Co. has a 12-month low of $17.59 and a 12-month high of $59.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.52. Blue Bird had a net margin of 6.36% and a return on equity of 154.10%. The firm had revenue of $345.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.00 million. Research analysts forecast that Blue Bird Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.