Results: PJT Partners Inc. Exceeded Expectations And The Consensus Has Updated Its Estimates

PJT Partners Inc. (NYSE:PJT) investors will be delighted, with the company turning in some strong numbers with its latest results. Statutory revenue of US$360m and earnings of US$1.06 both blasted past expectations, beating expectations by 28% and 73%, respectively, ahead of expectations. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on PJT Partners after the latest results.

View our latest analysis for PJT Partners

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from PJT Partners' six analysts is for revenues of US$1.38b in 2024. This would reflect a satisfactory 6.5% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to dive 22% to US$3.38 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$1.31b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.38 in 2024. So it looks like there's been no major change in sentiment following the latest results, although the analysts have made a small increase to to revenue forecasts.

The analysts increased their price target 14% to US$119, perhaps signalling that higher revenues are a strong leading indicator for PJT Partners's valuation. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. There are some variant perceptions on PJT Partners, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$142 and the most bearish at US$93.00 per share. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await PJT Partners shareholders.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the PJT Partners' past performance and to peers in the same industry. It's clear from the latest estimates that PJT Partners' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 13% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 10% 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 5.7% per year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that PJT Partners is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Happily, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and are forecasting them to grow faster than 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.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for PJT Partners going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

You still need to take note of risks, for example - PJT Partners has 2 warning signs we think 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com