La Française des Jeux Société anonyme (EPA:FDJ) Just Released Its Interim Results And Analysts Are Updating Their Estimates

Last week, you might have seen that La Française des Jeux Société anonyme (EPA:FDJ) released its half-year result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 9.0% to €45.10 in the past week. It was a workmanlike result, with revenues of €1.1b coming in 2.6% ahead of expectations, and statutory earnings per share of €1.12, in line with analyst appraisals. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on La Française des Jeux Société anonyme after the latest results.

View our latest analysis for La Française des Jeux Société anonyme

Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for La Française des Jeux Société anonyme from eleven analysts is for revenues of €2.20b in 2021 which, if met, would be an okay 2.1% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to descend 13% to €1.42 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of €2.17b and earnings per share (EPS) of €1.40 in 2021. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at €44.47. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. The most optimistic La Française des Jeux Société anonyme analyst has a price target of €51.50 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €40.00. The narrow spread of estimates could suggest that the business' future is relatively easy to value, or thatthe analysts have a strong view on its prospects.

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. We would highlight that La Française des Jeux Société anonyme's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 4.3% annualised growth rate until the end of 2021 being well below the historical 16% growth over the last year. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 11% annually. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that La Française des Jeux Société anonyme is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.

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. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply revenues will 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. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for La Française des Jeux Société anonyme going out to 2023, and you can see them free on our platform here..

You still need to take note of risks, for example - La Française des Jeux Société anonyme has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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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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