Analyst Estimates: Here's What Brokers Think Of Hannover Rück SE (ETR:HNR1) After Its Yearly Report

It's been a good week for Hannover Rück SE (ETR:HNR1) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest annual results, and the shares gained 2.6% to €274. It was a credible result overall, with revenues of €26b and statutory earnings per share of €19.31 both in line with analyst estimates, showing that Hannover Rück is executing in line with expectations. 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. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

View our latest analysis for Hannover Rück

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Hannover Rück's twelve analysts is for revenues of €28.0b in 2025. This would reflect a reasonable 5.9% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to rise 8.0% to €20.85. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of €27.6b and earnings per share (EPS) of €20.78 in 2025. 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.

The analysts reconfirmed their price target of €274, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. The most optimistic Hannover Rück analyst has a price target of €320 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €185. There are definitely some different views on the stock, but the range of estimates is not wide enough as to imply that the situation is unforecastable, in our view.

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. The analysts are definitely expecting Hannover Rück's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 5.9% annualised growth to the end of 2025 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 3.4% per annum over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 7.1% per year. So it's clear that despite the acceleration in growth, Hannover Rück is expected to grow meaningfully slower than the industry average.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that Hannover Rück's revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have estimates - from multiple Hannover Rück analysts - going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You can also see whether Hannover Rück is carrying too much debt, and whether its balance sheet is healthy, for free 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.