Brokers Are Upgrading Their Views On PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) With These New Forecasts

Shareholders in PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) may be thrilled to learn that the analysts have just delivered a major upgrade to their near-term forecasts. Consensus estimates suggest investors could expect greatly increased statutory revenues and earnings per share, with analysts modelling a real improvement in business performance.

After this upgrade, PBF Energy's ten analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$45b in 2022. This would be a notable 18% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are presumed to surge 53% to US$17.69. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$40b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$11.02 in 2022. So we can see there's been a pretty clear increase in analyst sentiment in recent times, with both revenues and earnings per share receiving a decent lift in the latest estimates.

See our latest analysis for PBF Energy

Despite these upgrades, the analysts have not made any major changes to their price target of US$38.31, suggesting that the higher estimates are not likely to have a long term impact on what the stock is worth. 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. The most optimistic PBF Energy analyst has a price target of US$48.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$30.00. 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 PBF Energy shareholders.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's clear from the latest estimates that PBF Energy's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 38% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2022 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 3.4% p.a. over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue shrink 5.3% per year. So it's clear with the acceleration in growth, PBF Energy is expected to grow meaningfully faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us from these new estimates is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, with improved earnings power expected for this year. Fortunately, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates sales are expected to perform better than the wider market. Some investors might be disappointed to see that the price target is unchanged, but we feel that improving fundamentals are usually a positive - assuming these forecasts are met! So PBF Energy could be a good candidate for more research.

Analysts are clearly in love with PBF Energy at the moment, but before diving in - you should be aware that we've identified some warning flags with the business, such as recent substantial insider selling. For more information, you can click through to our platform to learn more about this and the 1 other concern we've identified .

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.