Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BWMN) Released Earnings Last Week And Analysts Lifted Their Price Target To US$48.75
Shareholders of Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BWMN) will be pleased this week, given that the stock price is up 12% to US$38.76 following its latest annual results. It was a pretty bad result overall; while revenues were in line with expectations at US$346m, statutory losses exploded to US$0.53 per share. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Bowman Consulting Group after the latest results.
View our latest analysis for Bowman Consulting Group
Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Bowman Consulting Group's four analysts is for revenues of US$421.1m in 2024. This would reflect a substantial 22% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Bowman Consulting Group is also expected to turn profitable, with statutory earnings of US$0.38 per share. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$405.5m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.57 in 2024. So it's pretty clear the analysts have mixed opinions on Bowman Consulting Group after the latest results; even though they upped their revenue numbers, it came at the cost of a large cut to per-share earnings expectations.
The analysts also upgraded Bowman Consulting Group's price target 11% to US$48.75, implying that the higher revenue expected to generate enough value to offset the forecast decline in earnings. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. There are some variant perceptions on Bowman Consulting Group, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$54.00 and the most bearish at US$45.00 per share. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Bowman Consulting Group is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.
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 pretty clear that there is an expectation that Bowman Consulting Group's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 22% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 39% over the past three years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 7.7% annually. Even after the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Bowman Consulting Group is also expected to grow faster than the wider industry.
The Bottom Line
The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for Bowman Consulting Group. Pleasantly, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and their forecasts suggest the business is expected to grow faster 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 in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Bowman Consulting Group. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have estimates - from multiple Bowman Consulting Group analysts - going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.
You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Bowman Consulting Group you should be aware of.
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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.
