What Do Analysts Think About The Future Of China Everbright International Limited's (HKG:257)?

As China Everbright International Limited (HKG:257) announced its earnings release on 31 December 2018, analysts seem fairly confident, with earnings growth rate expected to be 24% in the upcoming year, relative to the past five-year average earnings growth of 24% per year. Presently, with latest-twelve-month earnings at HK$4.3b, we should see this growing to HK$5.4b by 2020. Below is a brief commentary around China Everbright International's earnings outlook going forward, which may give you a sense of market sentiment for the company. Investors wanting to learn more about other aspects of the company should research its fundamentals here.

View our latest analysis for China Everbright International

Can we expect China Everbright International to keep growing?

The longer term expectations from the 19 analysts of 257 is tilted towards the positive sentiment. Given that it becomes hard to forecast far into the future, broker analysts tend to project ahead roughly three years. To understand the overall trajectory of 257's earnings growth over these next fews years, I've fitted a line through these analyst earnings forecast to determine an annual growth rate from the slope.

This results in an annual growth rate of 17% based on the most recent earnings level of HK$4.3b to the final forecast of HK$7.4b by 2022. This leads to an EPS of HK$1.2 in the final year of projections relative to the current EPS of HK$0.86. In 2022, 257's profit margin will have expanded from 16% to 17%.

Next Steps:

Future outlook is only one aspect when you're building an investment case for a stock. For China Everbright International, I've put together three relevant factors you should further research:

1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Valuation: What is China Everbright International worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether China Everbright International is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Growth Alternatives : Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of China Everbright International? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large growth potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.