Earnings Update: Here's Why Analysts Just Lifted Their Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE:HVT) Price Target To US$45.00

It's shaping up to be a tough period for Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE:HVT), which a week ago released some disappointing annual results that could have a notable impact on how the market views the stock. Haverty Furniture Companies missed analyst forecasts, with revenues of US$862m and statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.36, falling short by 2.8% and 3.6% respectively. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

See our latest analysis for Haverty Furniture Companies

Following last week's earnings report, Haverty Furniture Companies' two analysts are forecasting 2024 revenues to be US$858.7m, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to drop 18% to US$2.85 in the same period. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$894.5m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.82 in 2024. From this we can that sentiment has definitely become more bearish after the latest results, leading to lower revenue forecasts and a pretty serious reduction to earnings per share estimates.

What's most unexpected is that the consensus price target rose 12% to US$45.00, strongly implying the downgrade to forecasts is not expected to be more than a temporary blip.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Haverty Furniture Companies' past performance and to peers in the same industry. We would highlight that revenue is expected to reverse, with a forecast 0.4% annualised decline to the end of 2024. That is a notable change from historical growth of 6.0% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 5.2% per year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Haverty Furniture Companies is expected to lag the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. On the negative side, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. We note an upgrade to the price target, suggesting that the analysts believes the intrinsic value of the business is likely to improve over time.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Haverty Furniture Companies. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have analyst estimates for Haverty Furniture Companies going out as far as 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Plus, you should also learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Haverty Furniture Companies .

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.