Civista Bancshares, Inc. Just Beat Earnings Expectations: Here's What Analysts Think Will Happen Next

It's been a good week for Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest first-quarter results, and the shares gained 6.0% to US$21.06. Revenues were US$41m, approximately in line with whatthe analysts expected, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) crushed expectations, coming in at US$0.66, an impressive 28% ahead of estimates. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

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Following the latest results, Civista Bancshares' six analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$171.4m in 2025. This would be a meaningful 12% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to jump 26% to US$2.84. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$169.0m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.36 in 2025. Although the revenue estimates have not really changed, we can see there's been a sizeable expansion in earnings per share expectations, suggesting that the analysts have become more bullish after the latest result.

View our latest analysis for Civista Bancshares

The consensus price target was unchanged at US$25.17, implying that the improved earnings outlook is not expected to have a long term impact on value creation for shareholders. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Civista Bancshares analyst has a price target of US$28.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$23.00. This is a very narrow spread of estimates, implying either that Civista Bancshares is an easy company to value, or - more likely - the analysts are relying heavily on some key assumptions.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. It's clear from the latest estimates that Civista Bancshares' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 16% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 8.7% p.a. 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 7.1% per year. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect Civista Bancshares 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 Civista Bancshares' 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. The consensus price target held steady at US$25.17, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

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 forecasts for Civista Bancshares going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

It might also be worth considering whether Civista Bancshares' debt load is appropriate, using our debt analysis tools on the Simply Wall St platform, here.

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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.