ENN Natural Gas Co.,Ltd. Just Beat EPS By 5.3%: Here's What Analysts Think Will Happen Next

The quarterly results for ENN Natural Gas Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600803) were released last week, making it a good time to revisit its performance. ENN Natural GasLtd reported CN¥33b in revenue, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) of CN¥0.47 beat expectations, being 5.3% higher than what the analysts expected. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

See our latest analysis for ENN Natural GasLtd

After the latest results, the ten analysts covering ENN Natural GasLtd are now predicting revenues of CN¥151.0b in 2024. If met, this would reflect a reasonable 5.2% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to fall 17% to CN¥2.00 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of CN¥148.7b and earnings per share (EPS) of CN¥2.03 in 2024. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

There were no changes to revenue or earnings estimates or the price target of CN¥22.91, suggesting that the company has met expectations in its recent result. 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. The most optimistic ENN Natural GasLtd analyst has a price target of CN¥25.92 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at CN¥20.00. This is a very narrow spread of estimates, implying either that ENN Natural GasLtd is an easy company to value, or - more likely - the analysts are relying heavily on some key assumptions.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that ENN Natural GasLtd's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 11% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 16% over the past five years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 9.0% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while ENN Natural GasLtd's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's expected to grow roughly in line with the industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. Happily, there were no real changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow in line with the overall industry. The consensus price target held steady at CN¥22.91, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for ENN Natural GasLtd going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

It is also worth noting that we have found 1 warning sign for ENN Natural GasLtd that you need to take into consideration.

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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.