Results: Eversource Energy Delivered A Surprise Loss And Now Analysts Have New Forecasts
It's been a good week for Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest annual results, and the shares gained 8.4% to US$58.62. It was a pretty negative result overall, with revenues of US$12b missing analyst predictions by 6.2%. Worse, the business reported a statutory loss of US$1.26 per share, a substantial decline on analyst expectations of a profit. 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. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.
See our latest analysis for Eversource Energy
Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Eversource Energy's ten analysts is for revenues of US$13.2b in 2024. This reflects a notable 11% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Eversource Energy is also expected to turn profitable, with statutory earnings of US$4.55 per share. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$13.4b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$4.55 in 2024. 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.
It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at US$66.24. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. The most optimistic Eversource Energy analyst has a price target of US$94.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$50.00. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.
These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Eversource Energy's past performance and to peers in the same industry. The period to the end of 2024 brings more of the same, according to the analysts, with revenue forecast to display 11% growth on an annualised basis. That is in line with its 9.6% annual growth over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenues grow 3.3% per year. So it's pretty clear that Eversource Energy is forecast to grow substantially 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. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Additionally, our data suggests that revenue is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.
With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Eversource Energy. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have forecasts for Eversource Energy going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.
It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for Eversource Energy that you need to take into consideration.
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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.
