This Just In: Analysts Are Boosting Their Whitehaven Coal Limited (ASX:WHC) Outlook for This Year

Celebrations may be in order for Whitehaven Coal Limited (ASX:WHC) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a significant upgrade to their statutory estimates for the company. Consensus estimates suggest investors could expect greatly increased statutory revenues and earnings per share, with the analysts modelling a real improvement in business performance.

Following the latest upgrade, the current consensus, from the nine analysts covering Whitehaven Coal, is for revenues of AU$4.3b in 2024, which would reflect a concerning 30% reduction in Whitehaven Coal's sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are supposed to crater 67% to AU$1.04 in the same period. Prior to this update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of AU$3.1b and earnings per share (EPS) of AU$0.88 in 2024. So we can see there's been a pretty clear increase in analyst sentiment in recent times, with both revenues and earnings per share receiving a decent lift in the latest estimates.

See our latest analysis for Whitehaven Coal

Despite these upgrades, the analysts have not made any major changes to their price target of AU$8.15, suggesting that the higher estimates are not likely to have a long term impact on what the stock is worth.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast annualised revenue decline of 30% by the end of 2024. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 27% over the last five years. Yet aggregate analyst estimates for other companies in the industry suggest that industry revenues are forecast to decline 2.1% per year. So it's pretty clear that Whitehaven Coal's revenues are expected to shrink faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us from these new estimates is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, with improved earnings power expected for this year. Notably, analysts also upgraded their revenue estimates, with sales performing well although Whitehaven Coal's revenue growth is expected to trail that of the wider market. Some investors might be disappointed to see that the price target is unchanged, but we feel that improving fundamentals are usually a positive - assuming these forecasts are met! So Whitehaven Coal could be a good candidate for more research.

Still, the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Whitehaven Coal going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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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.