The Hackett Group, Inc. Just Beat EPS By 6.9%: Here's What Analysts Think Will Happen Next

The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCKT) investors will be delighted, with the company turning in some strong numbers with its latest results. The company beat expectations with revenues of US$78m arriving 2.6% ahead of forecasts. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) were US$0.31, 6.9% ahead of estimates. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

See our latest analysis for Hackett Group

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Hackett Group's dual analysts is for revenues of US$306.5m in 2024. This reflects a satisfactory 3.1% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory per-share earnings are expected to be US$1.26, roughly flat on the last 12 months. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$305.5m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.27 in 2024. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

With the analysts reconfirming their revenue and earnings forecasts, it's surprising to see that the price target rose 8.1% to US$29.00. It looks as though they previously had some doubts over whether the business would live up to their expectations.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. It's clear from the latest estimates that Hackett Group's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 6.2% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 4.0% 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 8.9% per year. It seems obvious that, while the future growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, Hackett Group is expected to grow slower than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse 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.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have analyst estimates for Hackett Group going out as far as 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

It might also be worth considering whether Hackett Group's debt load is appropriate, using our debt analysis tools on the Simply Wall St platform, here.

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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.