Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 60,085 Shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD - Free Report) by 37.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,070 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,085 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.31% of Blue Bird worth $3,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Blue Bird by 220.1% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Blue Bird by 568.8% during the third quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 3,792 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Blue Bird during the fourth quarter worth about $217,000. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLBD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Blue Bird from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. DA Davidson raised their target price 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. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their target price 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.25.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

NASDAQ BLBD traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,344,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,931. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Blue Bird Co. has a 52 week low of $17.59 and a 52 week high of $59.40.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $345.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $315.00 million. Blue Bird had a return on equity of 154.10% and a net margin of 6.36%. Equities research analysts predict that Blue Bird Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.