Lindsay Corporation Just Recorded A 5.5% EPS Beat: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting Next

As you might know, Lindsay Corporation (NYSE:LNN) recently reported its quarterly numbers. It looks to have been a bit of a mixed result. While revenues of US$152m fell 12% short of what the analysts had predicted, statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.64 exceeded expectations by 5.5%. 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. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

See our latest analysis for Lindsay

Following the recent earnings report, the consensus from four analysts covering Lindsay is for revenues of US$603.1m in 2024. This implies a noticeable 6.4% decline in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to decline 17% to US$5.21 in the same period. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$672.7m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$5.87 in 2024. It looks like sentiment has declined substantially in the aftermath of these results, with a substantial drop in revenue estimates and a real cut to earnings per share numbers as well.

What's most unexpected is that the consensus price target rose 9.8% to US$134, strongly implying the downgrade to forecasts is not expected to be more than a temporary blip. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. There are some variant perceptions on Lindsay, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$142 and the most bearish at US$126 per share. Still, with such a tight range of estimates, it suggeststhe analysts have a pretty good idea of what they think the company is worth.

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. These estimates imply that revenue is expected to slow, with a forecast annualised decline of 12% by the end of 2024. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 11% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 3.4% annually for the foreseeable future. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Lindsay 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 said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have forecasts for Lindsay going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Another thing to consider is whether management and directors have been buying or selling stock recently. We provide an overview of all open market stock trades for the last twelve months on our platform, here.

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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.