Bearish: Analysts Just Cut Their Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) Revenue and EPS estimates

Market forces rained on the parade of Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) shareholders today, when the analysts downgraded their forecasts for this year. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) estimates were cut sharply as analysts factored in the latest outlook for the business, concluding that they were too optimistic previously.

Following the downgrade, the most recent consensus for Peoples Financial Services from its dual analysts is for revenues of US$120m in 2024 which, if met, would be a substantial 24% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are supposed to plunge 74% to US$0.86 in the same period. Prior to this update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$140m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.58 in 2024. Indeed, we can see that the analysts are a lot more bearish about Peoples Financial Services' prospects, administering a measurable cut to revenue estimates and slashing their EPS estimates to boot.

View our latest analysis for Peoples Financial Services

It'll come as no surprise then, to learn that the analysts have cut their price target 5.1% to US$46.50.

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. It's clear from the latest estimates that Peoples Financial Services' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 33% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 6.1% 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 6.0% per year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Peoples Financial Services is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts cut their earnings per share estimates, expecting a clear decline in business conditions. Unfortunately, analysts also downgraded their revenue estimates, although our data indicates revenues are expected to perform better than the wider market. With a serious cut to this year's expectations and a falling price target, we wouldn't be surprised if investors were becoming wary of Peoples Financial Services.

Still, the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have analyst estimates for Peoples Financial Services going out as far as 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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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.