Bullish: Analysts Just Made A Massive Upgrade To Their ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE:ZIM) Forecasts

Shareholders in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE:ZIM) may be thrilled to learn that the analysts have just delivered a major upgrade to their near-term forecasts. The consensus statutory numbers for both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) increased, with their view clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects.

After this upgrade, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services' five analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$7.7b in 2024. This would be a sizeable 29% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Losses are expected to turn into profits real soon, with the analysts forecasting US$12.03 in per-share earnings. Before this latest update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$6.9b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$7.31 in 2024. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for ZIM Integrated Shipping Services

Although the analysts have upgraded their earnings estimates, there was no change to the consensus price target of US$17.87, suggesting that the forecast performance does not have a long term impact on the company's valuation.

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 ZIM Integrated Shipping Services' growth to accelerate, with the forecast 65% annualised growth to the end of 2024 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 16% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to see a revenue decline of 0.2% annually. So it's clear with the acceleration in growth, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services is expected to grow meaningfully faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away from this upgrade is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates for this year, expecting improving business conditions. On the plus side, they also lifted their revenue estimates, and the company is 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 ZIM Integrated Shipping Services could be a good candidate for more research.

Still, 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 ZIM Integrated Shipping Services going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are upgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks with high insider ownership.

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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.