US$360 - That's What Analysts Think Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) Is Worth After These Results

The first-quarter results for Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) were released last week, making it a good time to revisit its performance. Accenture reported US$16b in revenue, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.10 beat expectations, being 3.1% higher than what the analysts expected. 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. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

View our latest analysis for Accenture

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Accenture's 25 analysts is for revenues of US$66.3b in 2024. This would reflect an okay 2.6% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to accumulate 7.5% to US$11.80. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$66.5b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$11.86 in 2024. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

The consensus price target rose 5.6% to US$360despite there being no meaningful change to earnings estimates. It could be that the analystsare reflecting the predictability of Accenture's earnings by assigning a price premium. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. There are some variant perceptions on Accenture, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$410 and the most bearish at US$271 per share. 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.

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 pretty clear that there is an expectation that Accenture's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 3.5% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 11% over the past five years. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 10% annually. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Accenture is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.

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. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that Accenture's revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with the analysts clearly feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Accenture going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Another thing to consider is whether management and directors have been buying or selling stock recently. We provide an overview of all open market stock trades for the last twelve months on our 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.