Volcon (NASDAQ:EMPD) versus Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) Critical Review

Volcon (NASDAQ:EMPD) 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 profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Volcon and Blue Bird, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Volcon	1	0	0	1	2.50
Blue Bird	0	1	6	0	2.86

Blue Bird has a consensus target price of $64.60, suggesting a potential upside of 30.32%. Given Blue Bird’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Blue Bird is more favorable than Volcon.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Volcon	-1,758.79%	-27.36%	-23.81%
Blue Bird	8.63%	62.87%	23.37%

Volatility and Risk

Volcon has a beta of -0.61, suggesting that its share price is 161% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Blue Bird has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Volcon and Blue Bird”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Volcon	$4.04 million	40.84	-$45.51 million	($15.42)	-0.29
Blue Bird	$1.48 billion	1.06	$127.72 million	$3.88	12.78

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.6% of Blue Bird shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Volcon 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 stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

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

About Volcon

Volcon, Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells electric off road powersport vehicles in the United States. It provides electric two and four-wheel motorcycles, and utility terrain vehicles through its dealers. The company also offers a line of upgrades and accessories. Its products are designed for family off-road adventures, and work on the farm and fun transport around private land applications. The company was formerly known as Frog ePowersports, Inc. and changed its name to Volcon, Inc. in October 2020. Volcon, Inc. was incorporated in 2020 and is based in Round Rock, Texas.

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.