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Should Value Investors Pick Blue Bird (BLBD) Stock Now?
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Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?
One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put, Blue Bird Corporation (BLBD - Free Report) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:
PE Ratio
A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.
On this front, Blue Bird has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 13.18, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 compares in at about 20.62. If we focus on the stock’s long-term PE trend, the current level Blue Bird puts current PE ratio below its midpoint (which is 16.87) over the past five years.
However, the stock’s PE compares unfavorably with the Zacks Auto-Tires-Trucks sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 12.36. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively overvalued right now, compared to its peers.
We should also point out that Blue Bird has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 9.92, so it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for the stock in the near term too.
P/S Ratio
Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.
Right now, the stock has a P/S ratio of about 0.53. This is somewhat lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.56 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is well below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.
If anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, Blue Bird currently has a Value Style Score of A, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes BLBD a solid choice for value investors.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though Blue Bird might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of A and a Momentum score of D. This gives BLBD a VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of B. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>).
Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. The current quarter has seen one estimate go higher in the past sixty days compared to none lower, while current year estimate has seen one upward and no downward revision in the same time period.
This has had a noticeable impact on the consensus estimate as the current quarter consensus estimate has climbed 28.6% in the past two months, while current year estimate has inched up 0.5% in the same time period. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:
This bullish trend is why the stock boasts a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and why we are expecting outperformance from the company in the near term.
Bottom Line
Blue Bird is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Moreover, a strong industry rank (Top 37% out of more than 250 industries) further supports the growth potential of the stock. In fact, over the past one year, the sector has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:
So, it might pay for value investors to delve deeper into the company’s prospects, as fundamentals indicate that this stock could be a compelling pick.
Today's Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2019, while the S&P 500 gained and impressive +53.6%, five of our strategies returned +65.8%, +97.1%, +118.0%, +175.7% and even +186.7%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2019, while the S&P averaged +6.0% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +54.7% per year.
Image: Bigstock
Should Value Investors Pick Blue Bird (BLBD) Stock Now?
Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?
One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put, Blue Bird Corporation (BLBD - Free Report) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:
PE Ratio
A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.
On this front, Blue Bird has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 13.18, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 compares in at about 20.62. If we focus on the stock’s long-term PE trend, the current level Blue Bird puts current PE ratio below its midpoint (which is 16.87) over the past five years.
However, the stock’s PE compares unfavorably with the Zacks Auto-Tires-Trucks sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 12.36. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively overvalued right now, compared to its peers.
We should also point out that Blue Bird has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 9.92, so it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for the stock in the near term too.
P/S Ratio
Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.
Right now, the stock has a P/S ratio of about 0.53. This is somewhat lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.56 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is well below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.
If anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, Blue Bird currently has a Value Style Score of A, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes BLBD a solid choice for value investors.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though Blue Bird might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of A and a Momentum score of D. This gives BLBD a VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of B. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>).
Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. The current quarter has seen one estimate go higher in the past sixty days compared to none lower, while current year estimate has seen one upward and no downward revision in the same time period.
This has had a noticeable impact on the consensus estimate as the current quarter consensus estimate has climbed 28.6% in the past two months, while current year estimate has inched up 0.5% in the same time period. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:
Blue Bird Corporation Price and Consensus
Blue Bird Corporation price-consensus-chart | Blue Bird Corporation Quote
This bullish trend is why the stock boasts a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and why we are expecting outperformance from the company in the near term.
Bottom Line
Blue Bird is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Moreover, a strong industry rank (Top 37% out of more than 250 industries) further supports the growth potential of the stock. In fact, over the past one year, the sector has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:
So, it might pay for value investors to delve deeper into the company’s prospects, as fundamentals indicate that this stock could be a compelling pick.
Today's Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2019, while the S&P 500 gained and impressive +53.6%, five of our strategies returned +65.8%, +97.1%, +118.0%, +175.7% and even +186.7%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2019, while the S&P averaged +6.0% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +54.7% per year.
See their latest picks free >>