NV Bekaert SA Just Recorded A 8.0% Revenue Beat: Here's What Analysts Think

Investors in NV Bekaert SA (EBR:BEKB) had a good week, as its shares rose 2.2% to close at €40.46 following the release of its half-year results. Results overall were respectable, with statutory earnings of €2.38 per share roughly in line with what the analysts had forecast. Revenues of €2.3b came in 8.0% ahead of analyst predictions. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for NV Bekaert

Following the latest results, NV Bekaert's four analysts are now forecasting revenues of €4.55b in 2021. This would be a modest 5.5% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to increase 2.5% to €5.59. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of €4.27b and earnings per share (EPS) of €3.42 in 2021. So it seems there's been a definite increase in optimism about NV Bekaert's future following the latest results, with a very substantial lift in the earnings per share forecasts in particular.

It will come as no surprise to learn that the analysts have increased their price target for NV Bekaert 5.2% to €45.53on the back of these upgrades. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic NV Bekaert analyst has a price target of €65.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €26.10. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's clear from the latest estimates that NV Bekaert's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 11% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2021 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 1.6% p.a. over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue shrink 3.3% per year. It seems obvious that as part of the brighter growth outlook, NV Bekaert is expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards NV Bekaert following these results. On the plus side, they also lifted their revenue estimates, and the company is expected to perform better than the wider industry. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with the analysts clearly feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have estimates - from multiple NV Bekaert analysts - going out to 2023, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 3 warning signs for NV Bekaert you should be aware of, and 1 of them doesn't sit too well with us.

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