Lifco AB (publ) (STO:LIFCO B) Just Reported And Analysts Have Been Lifting Their Price Targets

Shareholders might have noticed that Lifco AB (publ) (STO:LIFCO B) filed its quarterly result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 4.8% to kr313 in the past week. Results were roughly in line with estimates, with revenues of kr6.3b and statutory earnings per share of kr7.21. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Lifco after the latest results.

Check out our latest analysis for Lifco

Following the latest results, Lifco's three analysts are now forecasting revenues of kr28.5b in 2025. This would be a solid 12% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to swell 19% to kr8.43. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of kr28.7b and earnings per share (EPS) of kr8.46 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 consensus price target rose 18% to kr329despite there being no meaningful change to earnings estimates. It could be that the analystsare reflecting the predictability of Lifco's earnings by assigning a price premium. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. There are some variant perceptions on Lifco, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at kr355 and the most bearish at kr303 per share. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Lifco is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

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. We would highlight that Lifco's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 9.5% annualised growth rate until the end of 2025 being well below the historical 15% p.a. growth over the last five years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 8.9% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while Lifco's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's expected to grow roughly in line with the industry.

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. They also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, with the company predicted to grow at about the same rate as the wider industry. We note an upgrade to the price target, suggesting that the analysts believes the intrinsic value of the business is likely to improve over time.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Lifco. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have forecasts for Lifco going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Lifco that you should be aware of.

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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.