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The following are today's upgrades for Validea's Earnings Yield Investor model based on the published strategy of Joel Greenblatt. This value model looks for companies with high return on capital and earnings yields.

BLUE BIRD CORP (BLBD) is a small-cap growth stock in the Auto & Truck Manufacturers industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Joel Greenblatt changed from 0% to 90% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Blue Bird Corporation is an independent designer and manufacturer of school buses. The Company is focused on designing, engineering and manufacturing electric and low-emission school buses with more than 20,000 propane, natural gas, and electric-powered buses in operation. The Company operates through two segments: Bus segment and Parts segment. The Bus segment includes the manufacturing and assembly of buses to be sold to a variety of customers across the United States, Canada and in certain limited international markets. The Parts segment consists of the purchase of parts from third parties to be sold to dealers within the Company's network and certain large fleet customers. It also provides alternative powered product offerings with its propane-powered, gasoline-powered, compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered, and all-electric-powered school buses. It sells its buses and parts through a network of United States and Canadian dealers.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of BLUE BIRD CORP

RMR GROUP INC (RMR) is a small-cap value stock in the Real Estate Operations industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Joel Greenblatt changed from 80% to 90% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: The RMR Group Inc. is an alternative asset management company, which is focused on commercial real estate (CRE) and related businesses. The Company is a holding company and operates through its subsidiary, The RMR Group LLC (RMR LLC). RMR LLC provides management services to four publicly traded equity real estate investment trusts (REITs): Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC), which owns medical office and life science properties, senior living communities and other healthcare related properties; Industrial Logistics Properties Trust (ILPT), which owns and leases industrial and logistics properties; Office Properties Income Trust (OPI), which owns and leases office properties primarily to single tenants and those with high credit quality characteristics; and Service Properties Trust (SVC), which owns a diverse portfolio of hotels and service-focused retail net lease properties. The Company is also engaged in operating a multifamily commercial real estate platform.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of RMR GROUP INC

About Joel Greenblatt: In his 2005 bestseller The Little Book That Beats The Market, hedge fund manager Joel Greenblatt laid out a stunningly simple way to beat the market using two -- and only two -- fundamental variables. The "Magic Formula," as he called it, produced back-tested returns of 30.8 percent per year from 1988 through 2004, more than doubling the S&P 500's 12.4 percent return during that time. Greenblatt also produced exceptional returns as managing partner at Gotham Capital, a New York City-based hedge fund he founded. The firm averaged a remarkable 40 percent annualized return over more than two decades.

About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.