New Forecasts: Here's What Analysts Think The Future Holds For Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC)

Celebrations may be in order for Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a significant upgrade to their statutory estimates for the company. The consensus estimated revenue numbers rose, with their view now clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects.

After the upgrade, the six analysts covering Barings BDC are now predicting revenues of US$176m in 2022. If met, this would reflect a substantial 30% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are anticipated to tumble 20% to US$0.95 in the same period. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$159m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.94 in 2022. It seems analyst sentiment has certainly become more bullish on revenues, even though they haven't changed their view on earnings per share.

Check out our latest analysis for Barings BDC

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. For example, we noticed that Barings BDC's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with revenues forecast to exhibit 30% growth to the end of 2022 on an annualised basis. That is well above its historical decline of 5.4% a year over the past five years. Compare this against analyst estimates for the broader industry, which suggest that (in aggregate) industry revenues are expected to decline 0.2% per year. So although Barings BDC is expected to return to growth, it's also expected to grow revenues during a time when the wider industry is estimated to see revenue decline.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion from this consensus update is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with analysts holding earnings per share steady, in line with previous estimates. On the plus side, they also lifted their revenue estimates, and the company is expected to perform better than the wider market. Given that analysts appear to be expecting substantial improvement in the sales pipeline, now could be the right time to take another look at Barings BDC.

These earnings upgrades look like a sterling endorsement, but before diving in - you should know that we've spotted 3 potential risk with Barings BDC, including concerns around earnings quality. You can learn more, and discover the 1 other risk we've identified, for 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.