Critical Contrast: Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG)

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Blue Bird and Harley-Davidson, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blue Bird	0	2	6	0	2.75
Harley-Davidson	0	5	1	1	2.43

Blue Bird currently has a consensus price target of $56.79, indicating a potential upside of 35.30%. Harley-Davidson has a consensus price target of $30.00, indicating a potential upside of 28.56%. Given Blue Bird’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Blue Bird is more favorable than Harley-Davidson.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.6% of Blue Bird shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.1% of Harley-Davidson shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Blue Bird shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Harley-Davidson shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Blue Bird has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Harley-Davidson has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Blue Bird and Harley-Davidson’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blue Bird	7.97%	64.83%	20.87%
Harley-Davidson	7.82%	10.72%	2.83%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Blue Bird and Harley-Davidson”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blue Bird	$1.35 billion	0.98	$105.55 million	$3.23	12.99
Harley-Davidson	$5.19 billion	0.55	$455.36 million	$2.68	8.71

Harley-Davidson has higher revenue and earnings than Blue Bird. Harley-Davidson 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 Harley-Davidson on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson, Inc. manufactures and sells motorcycles in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Harley-Davidson Motor Company, LiveWire, and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company segment designs, manufactures, and sells motorcycles, including cruiser, trike, touring, standard, sportbike, adventure, and dual sport, as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, and apparel, as well as licenses its trademarks and related services. This segment sells its products to retail customers through a network of independent dealers, as well as e-commerce channels. The LiveWire segment sells electric motorcycles, balance bikes for kids, parts and accessories, apparel, and related parts and services. The Harley-Davidson Financial Services segment provides wholesale financing services, such as floorplan and open account financing of motorcycles, and parts and accessories; and retail financing services, such as installment lending for the purchase of new and used Harley-Davidson motorcycles, as well as point-of-sale insurance and voluntary protection products. This segment also licenses third-party financial institutions that issue credit cards bearing the Harley-Davidson brand. Harley-Davidson, Inc. was founded in 1903 and is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.