Chemung Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CHMG) Analysts Are Pretty Bullish On The Stock After Recent Results
Investors in Chemung Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CHMG) had a good week, as its shares rose 2.2% to close at US$49.55 following the release of its yearly results. It looks like the results were a bit of a negative overall. While revenues of US$96m were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings were less than expected, missing estimates by 3.6% to hit US$5.28 per share. 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.
Check out our latest analysis for Chemung Financial
Following the latest results, Chemung Financial's three analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$99.2m in 2024. This would be a credible 3.6% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to sink 12% to US$4.67 in the same period. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$97.0m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$4.73 in 2024. There doesn't appear to have been a major change in sentiment following the results, other than the modest lift to revenue estimates.
The analysts increased their price target 14% to US$51.00, perhaps signalling that higher revenues are a strong leading indicator for Chemung Financial's valuation. 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 Chemung Financial, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$51.00 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 Chemung Financial is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.
Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. We would highlight that Chemung Financial's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 3.6% annualised growth rate until the end of 2024 being well below the historical 6.0% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 5.6% per year. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Chemung Financial 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, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, although our data indicates it 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. We have forecasts for Chemung Financial going out to 2025, 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.
