Blue Bird (BLBD) closed at $78.07 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.92% move from the prior day. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.28%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.09%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.2%.
The school bus maker's shares have seen an increase of 11.86% over the last month, surpassing the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector's gain of 1.57% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.64%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Blue Bird in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.22, showcasing a 2.52% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $498.7 million, up 25.3% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $1.74 billion, which would represent changes of +8.22% and +17.88%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in 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 demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.45% higher. Blue Bird is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Blue Bird is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.79. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 18.61, which means Blue Bird is trading at a discount to the group.
It is also worth noting that BLBD currently has a PEG ratio of 1.02. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Automotive - Domestic stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.02 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Automotive - Domestic industry is part of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 56, finds itself in the top 23% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).