Earnings Update: Here's Why Analysts Just Lifted Their Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BWMN) Price Target To US$48.75

Shareholders of Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BWMN) will be pleased this week, given that the stock price is up 12% to US$38.76 following its latest full-year results. Revenues were in line with expectations, at US$346m, while statutory losses ballooned to US$0.53 per share. 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. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for Bowman Consulting Group

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Bowman Consulting Group's four analysts is for revenues of US$421.1m in 2024. This would reflect a substantial 22% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Earnings are expected to improve, with Bowman Consulting Group forecast to report a statutory profit of US$0.38 per share. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$405.5m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.57 in 2024. While next year's revenue estimates increased, there was also a pretty serious reduction to EPS expectations, suggesting the consensus has a bit of a mixed view of these results.

The analysts also upgraded Bowman Consulting Group's price target 11% to US$48.75, implying that the higher revenue expected to generate enough value to offset the forecast decline in earnings. 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. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Bowman Consulting Group at US$54.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$45.00. This is a very narrow spread of estimates, implying either that Bowman Consulting Group is an easy company to value, or - more likely - the analysts are relying heavily on some key assumptions.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Bowman Consulting Group's past performance and to peers in the same industry. We would highlight that Bowman Consulting Group's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 22% annualised growth rate until the end of 2024 being well below the historical 39% p.a. growth over the last three years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 7.7% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while Bowman Consulting Group's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's still expected to grow faster than the industry itself.

The Bottom Line

The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for Bowman Consulting Group. Pleasantly, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and their forecasts suggest the business is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with the analysts clearly feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Bowman Consulting Group going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here..

You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Bowman Consulting Group 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.