Analyst Forecasts Just Became More Bearish On Norske Skog ASA (OB:NSKOG)

One thing we could say about the analysts on Norske Skog ASA (OB:NSKOG) - they aren't optimistic, having just made a major negative revision to their near-term (statutory) forecasts for the organization. There was a fairly draconian cut to their revenue estimates, perhaps an implicit admission that previous forecasts were much too optimistic.

After this downgrade, Norske Skog's three analysts are now forecasting revenues of kr13b in 2025. This would be a major 36% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 53% to kr3.64 per share. Yet before this consensus update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of kr15b and losses of kr3.42 per share in 2025. Ergo, there's been a clear change in sentiment, with the analysts administering a notable cut to this year's revenue estimates, while at the same time increasing their loss per share forecasts.

View our latest analysis for Norske Skog

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. The analysts are definitely expecting Norske Skog's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 36% annualised growth to the end of 2025 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 2.6% 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 3.9% per year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Norske Skog is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts increased their loss per share estimates for this year. Unfortunately, analysts also downgraded their revenue estimates, although our data indicates revenues are expected to perform better than the wider market. Often, one downgrade can set off a daisy-chain of cuts, especially if an industry is in decline. So we wouldn't be surprised if the market became a lot more cautious on Norske Skog after today.

Still, the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple Norske Skog analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are downgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks with high insider ownership.

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