Blue Bird (BLBD) ended the recent trading session at $55.51, demonstrating a -3.54% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.34% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.09%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.42%.
The stock of school bus maker has risen by 1.16% in the past month, lagging the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector's gain of 18.23% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.54%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Blue Bird in its upcoming release. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.97, marking a 25.97% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $380 million, reflecting a 8.51% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $4.04 per share and a revenue of $1.45 billion, demonstrating changes of +16.76% and 0%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Blue Bird. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Blue Bird presently features a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
In terms of valuation, Blue Bird is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 14.26. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 13.96.
Also, we should mention that BLBD has a PEG ratio of 1.56. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Automotive – Domestic industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.5 as of yesterday's close.
The Automotive – Domestic industry is part of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 147, which puts it in the bottom 41% of all 250+ industries.
