Il Sole 24 ORE S.p.A. (BIT:S24) Released Earnings Last Week And Analysts Lifted Their Price Target To €0.84

Investors in Il Sole 24 ORE S.p.A. (BIT:S24) had a good week, as its shares rose 2.7% to close at €0.42 following the release of its full-year results. It was an okay report, and revenues came in at €201m, approximately in line with analyst estimates leading up to the results announcement. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what expert is 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 analyst has changed their mind on Il Sole 24 ORE after the latest results.

See our latest analysis for Il Sole 24 ORE

After the latest results, the single analyst covering Il Sole 24 ORE are now predicting revenues of €216.7m in 2022. If met, this would reflect a modest 7.8% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Earnings are expected to improve, with Il Sole 24 ORE forecast to report a statutory profit of €0.076 per share. In the lead-up to this report, the analyst had been modelling revenues of €214.2m and earnings per share (EPS) of €0.03 in 2022. There was no real change to the revenue estimates, but the analyst does seem more bullish on earnings, given the massive increase in earnings per share expectations following these results.

The analyst has been lifting their price targets on the back of the earnings upgrade, with the consensus price target rising 20% to €0.84.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. For example, we noticed that Il Sole 24 ORE's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with revenues forecast to exhibit 7.8% growth to the end of 2022 on an annualised basis. That is well above its historical decline of 6.1% a year over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 2.2% per year. Not only are Il Sole 24 ORE's revenues expected to improve, it seems that the analyst is also expecting it to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around Il Sole 24 ORE's earnings potential next year. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with the analyst clearly feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving.

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 analyst estimates for Il Sole 24 ORE going out as far as 2023, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Even so, be aware that Il Sole 24 ORE is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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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.