In the latest close session, Blue Bird (BLBD) was up +2.08% at $50.06. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.55%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.63%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.91%.
The school bus maker's stock has dropped by 5.4% in the past month, exceeding the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector's loss of 5.88% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 0.71%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Blue Bird in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on February 4, 2026. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.8, indicating a 13.04% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $350 million, indicating a 11.51% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $4.21 per share and revenue of $1.57 billion, indicating changes of -3.88% and +5.74%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Blue Bird. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming 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, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. At present, Blue Bird boasts a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
In the context of valuation, Blue Bird is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 11.65. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 14.6, which means Blue Bird is trading at a discount to the group.
Also, we should mention that BLBD has a PEG ratio of 2.24. 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. As the market closed yesterday, the Automotive - Domestic industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.18.
The Automotive - Domestic industry is part of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 53, this industry ranks in the top 22% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in 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.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Blue Bird Corporation (BLBD): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
