In the latest market close, Blue Bird (BLBD) reached $42.25, with a +1.93% movement compared to the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.83%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 1.65%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 2.45%.

Coming into today, shares of the school bus maker had lost 6.58% in the past month. In that same time, the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector lost 10.85%, while the S&P 500 lost 3.31%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Blue Bird in its upcoming release. On that day, Blue Bird is projected to report earnings of $0.83 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 8.79%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $355 million, up 11.75% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.88 per share and revenue of $1.5 billion, which would represent changes of +12.14% and +10.97%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Blue Bird. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Right now, Blue Bird possesses a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Blue Bird has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.68 right now. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 14.21 of its industry.

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. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Automotive - Domestic industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.65.

The Automotive - Domestic industry is part of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 141, placing it within the bottom 44% of over 250 industries.

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.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.

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