Head to Head Analysis: Fox Factory (NASDAQ:FOXF) & Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Fox Factory (NASDAQ:FOXF) and Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) are both small-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Fox Factory and Blue Bird, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fox Factory	0	3	3	0	2.50
Blue Bird	0	2	6	1	2.89

Fox Factory presently has a consensus price target of $33.50, indicating a potential upside of 22.94%. Blue Bird has a consensus price target of $57.36, indicating a potential downside of 1.04%. Given Fox Factory’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Fox Factory is more favorable than Blue Bird.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.6% of Blue Bird shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Fox Factory shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Blue Bird shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Fox Factory has a beta of 1.48, meaning that its stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Blue Bird has a beta of 1.62, meaning that its stock price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Fox Factory and Blue Bird’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fox Factory	-17.50%	5.03%	2.56%
Blue Bird	8.16%	61.66%	21.26%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Fox Factory and Blue Bird”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fox Factory	$1.39 billion	0.82	$6.55 million	($6.05)	-4.50
Blue Bird	$1.35 billion	1.36	$105.55 million	$3.50	16.56

Blue Bird has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Fox Factory. Fox Factory is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Blue Bird, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Blue Bird beats Fox Factory on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fox Factory

Fox Factory Holding Corp. designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets performance-defining products and system worldwide. The company offers powered vehicle products for side-by-side vehicles, on-road vehicles with and without off-road capabilities, off-road vehicles and trucks, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, and specialty vehicles and applications, such as military, motorcycles, and commercial trucks; lift kits and components with shock products and aftermarket accessory packages for trucks; and mid-end and high-end front fork and rear suspension products. It also provides suspension tuning services, as well as wheels, off-road tires and accessories. In addition, the company offers mountain and gravel bike wheels, and other performance cycling components, including cranks, chainrings, pedals, bars, stems, and seat posts, as well as baseball and softball products comprising metal bats, wood bats, apparel and accessories, batting gloves, fielding gloves, and bags and protective equipment under the Marucci brand. The company serves aftermarket applications products under the BDS Suspension, Zone Offroad, JKS Manufacturing, RT Pro UTV, 4×4 Posi-Lok, Ridetech, Tuscany, Outside Van, SCA, and Custom Wheel House brands; and mountain bikes, e-bikes, and gravel bikes under the FOX, Race Face, Easton Cycling, and Marzocchi brands. Fox Factory Holding Corp. was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Duluth, Georgia.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells school buses in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Bus and Parts. It offers Type C, Type D, and specialty buses; and alternative power options through its propane powered, gasoline powered, compressed natural gas powered, and electric powered school buses, as well as diesel engines. The company also sells replacement bus parts; and provides financing services and extended warranties related to its products. Blue Bird Corporation sells its products through drop ship and a network of dealers, as well as directly to fleet operators, the United States government, and state governments; independent service centers; and maintains a parts distribution center. Blue Bird Corporation was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Macon, Georgia.