Hennessy Advisors Inc. Buys 16,900 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 263,400 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,900 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.82% of Blue Bird worth $10,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BLBD. FMR LLC increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $36,084,000 after purchasing an additional 156,298 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 725,573 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,798,000 after purchasing an additional 56,449 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 635,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 81.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 509,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,432,000 after purchasing an additional 229,004 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.59% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Roth Capital lowered shares of Blue Bird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Blue Bird in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $66.00 to $63.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blue Bird from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.64.

Blue Bird Price Performance

Shares of BLBD traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.96. The company had a trading volume of 671,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 506,692. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $40.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.10. Blue Bird Co. has a 1-year low of $24.44 and a 1-year high of $59.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.58.

Insider Activity at Blue Bird

In other Blue Bird news, CFO Razvan Radulescu sold 19,171 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $822,244.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 89,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,832,092.83. This trade represents a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.