The EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) Analysts Have Been Trimming Their Sales Forecasts

The latest analyst coverage could presage a bad day for EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT), with the analysts making across-the-board cuts to their statutory estimates that might leave shareholders a little shell-shocked. Revenue estimates were cut sharply as analysts signalled a weaker outlook - perhaps a sign that investors should temper their expectations as well.

Following the downgrade, the latest consensus from EQT's eleven analysts is for revenues of US$3.9b in 2021, which would reflect a notable 9.1% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Before the latest update, the analysts were foreseeing US$4.5b of revenue in 2021. It looks like forecasts have become a fair bit less optimistic on EQT, given the measurable cut to revenue estimates.

See our latest analysis for EQT

There was no particular change to the consensus price target of US$27.13, with EQT's latest outlook seemingly not enough to result in a change of valuation. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. The most optimistic EQT analyst has a price target of US$38.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$22.00. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.

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. The analysts are definitely expecting EQT's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 19% annualised growth to the end of 2021 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 9.6% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 2.2% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that EQT is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts cut their revenue estimates for this year. They're also forecasting more rapid revenue growth than the wider market. Often, one downgrade can set off a daisy-chain of cuts, especially if an industry is in decline. So we wouldn't be surprised if the market became a lot more cautious on EQT after today.

Unsatisfied? We have estimates for EQT from its eleven analysts out until 2023, and you can see them free on our platform here.

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