Blue Bird (BLBD) is an Incredible Growth Stock: 3 Reasons Why

Investors seek growth stocks to capitalize on above-average growth in financials that help these securities grab the market's attention and produce exceptional returns. However, it isn't easy to find a great growth stock.By their very nature, these stocks carry above-average risk and volatility. Moreover, if a company's growth story is over or nearing its end, betting on it could lead to significant loss.However, the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects, makes it pretty easy to find cutting-edge growth stocks.Blue Bird (BLBD) is on the list of such stocks currently recommended by our proprietary system. In addition to a favorable Growth Score, it carries a top Zacks Rank.Research shows that stocks carrying the best growth features consistently beat the market. And for stocks that have a combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), returns are even better.Here are three of the most important factors that make the stock of this school bus maker a great growth pick right now.Earnings GrowthArguably nothing is more important than earnings growth, as surging profit levels is what most investors are after. And for growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is definitely preferable, and often an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.While the historical EPS growth rate for Blue Bird is 31.3%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 12.1% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of -4.7%.Impressive Asset Utilization RatioAsset utilization ratio -- also known as sales-to-total-assets (S/TA) ratio -- is often overlooked by investors, but it is an important indicator in growth investing. This metric exhibits how efficiently a firm is utilizing its assets to generate sales.Right now, Blue Bird has an S/TA ratio of 2.87, which means that the company gets $2.87 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 0.31, it can be said that the company is more efficient.In addition to efficiency in generating sales, sales growth plays an important role. And Blue Bird is well positioned from a sales growth perspective too. The company's sales are expected to grow 11% this year versus the industry average of 0%.Promising Earnings Estimate RevisionsSuperiority of a stock in terms of the metrics outlined above can be further validated by looking at the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is of course favorable here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.There have been upward revisions in current-year earnings estimates for Blue Bird. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 7.4% over the past month.Bottom LineBlue Bird has not only earned a Growth Score of A based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above, but it also carries a Zacks Rank #1 because of the positive earnings estimate revisions.You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.This combination indicates that Blue Bird is a potential outperformer and a solid choice for growth investors.Must-See: Solar Stocks Poised to SkyrocketThe solar industry stands to bounce back as tech companies and the economy transition away from fossil fuels to power the AI boom.Trillions of dollars will be invested in clean energy over the coming years – and analysts predict solar will account for 80% of the renewable energy expansion. This creates an outsized opportunity to profit in the near-term and for years to come. But you have to pick the right stocks to get into.Discover Zacks’ hottest solar stock recommendation FREE.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 ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks