Results: Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft Exceeded Expectations And The Consensus Has Updated Its Estimates

A week ago, Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:BEI) came out with a strong set of interim numbers that could potentially lead to a re-rate of the stock. Results were good overall, with revenues beating analyst predictions by 2.4% to hit €3.9b. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in at €1.74, some 8.1% above whatthe analysts had expected. 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. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

View our latest analysis for Beiersdorf

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Beiersdorf's 22 analysts is for revenues of €7.61b in 2021, which would reflect a satisfactory 2.2% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to increase 3.8% to €3.06. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of €7.52b and earnings per share (EPS) of €2.98 in 2021. So the consensus seems to have become somewhat more optimistic on Beiersdorf's earnings potential following these results.

There's been no major changes to the consensus price target of €103, suggesting that the improved earnings per share outlook is not enough to have a long-term positive impact on the stock's valuation. 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 Beiersdorf analyst has a price target of €126 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €85.00. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await Beiersdorf shareholders.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Beiersdorf's past performance and to peers in the same industry. The analysts are definitely expecting Beiersdorf's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 4.4% annualised growth to the end of 2021 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 1.9% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to see revenue growth of 5.7% annually. It seems obvious that, while the future growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, Beiersdorf is expected to grow slower 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 Beiersdorf following these results. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply revenues will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at €103, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that 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 Beiersdorf going out to 2023, 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. 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.
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