The most recent trading session ended with Blue Bird (BLBD) standing at $42.15, reflecting a +1.93% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.54% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.53%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.66%.

Coming into today, shares of the school bus maker had lost 0.29% in the past month. In that same time, the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector gained 12.31%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.5%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Blue Bird in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.83, reflecting an 8.79% decrease from the same quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $355 million, up 11.75% from the year-ago period.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $3.88 per share and a revenue of $1.5 billion, indicating changes of +12.14% and +10.97%, respectively, from the former year.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Blue Bird. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an 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, there's been a 7.42% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Blue Bird currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

In terms of valuation, Blue Bird is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.66. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 12.59, which means Blue Bird is trading at a discount to the group.

It's also important to note that BLBD currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.01. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Automotive - Domestic industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.86.

The Automotive - Domestic industry is part of the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 135, finds itself in the bottom 47% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the 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.

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 Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research