Blue Bird (BLBD) closed at $77.88 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.37% move from the prior day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.22% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.03%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.66%.
Shares of the school bus maker witnessed a gain of 9.15% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector with its loss of 3.88%, and the S&P 500's loss of 1.21%.
The upcoming earnings release of Blue Bird will be of great interest to investors. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.22, indicating a 2.52% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $498.7 million, up 25.3% from the year-ago period.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.74 per share and a revenue of $1.74 billion, representing changes of +8.22% and +17.88%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Blue Bird should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 3.45% upward. At present, Blue Bird boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Digging into valuation, Blue Bird currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.66. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 20.24.
One should further note that BLBD currently holds 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. The Automotive - Domestic was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.02 at yesterday's closing price.
The Automotive - Domestic industry is part of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 106, positioning it in the top 44% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).