Central Pacific Financial Corp. Just Recorded A 6.7% EPS Beat: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting Next

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Last week saw the newest annual earnings release from Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF), an important milestone in the company's journey to build a stronger business. Revenues came up short, as sales of US$198m were 17% below what the analysts had predicted. Profits didn't suffer quite so much, with statutory per-share earnings of US$1.32 being coming in 6.7% above what was forecast. 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. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Central Pacific Financial after the latest results.

View our latest analysis for Central Pacific Financial

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Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for Central Pacific Financial from four analysts is for revenues of US$233.7m in 2021 which, if met, would be a solid 18% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to decrease 5.9% to US$1.32 in the same period. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$233.7m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.32 in 2021. 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.

The consensus price target rose 15% to US$23.00despite there being no meaningful change to earnings estimates. It could be that the analystsare reflecting the predictability of Central Pacific Financial's earnings by assigning a price premium. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Central Pacific Financial analyst has a price target of US$22.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$19.00. This is a very narrow spread of estimates, implying either that Central Pacific Financial is an easy company to value, or - more likely - the analysts are relying heavily on some key assumptions.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. The analysts are definitely expecting Central Pacific Financial's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 18% growth ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 1.6% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 6.3% next year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Central Pacific Financial is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

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. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still 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.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have estimates - from multiple Central Pacific Financial analysts - going out to 2022, and you can see them free on our platform here.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 2 warning signs for Central Pacific Financial that you need to be mindful of.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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