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As you might know, HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) last week released its latest quarterly, and things did not turn out so great for shareholders. Results showed a clear earnings miss, with US$7.5m revenue coming in 6.9% lower than what the analystsexpected. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.10 missed the mark badly, arriving some 23% below what was expected. 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. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.
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Following the recent earnings report, the consensus from dual analysts covering HireQuest is for revenues of US$32.5m in 2025. This implies a perceptible 3.4% decline in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to leap 126% to US$0.59. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$34.9m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.72 in 2025. The analysts seem less optimistic after the recent results, reducing their revenue forecasts and making a real cut to earnings per share numbers.
See our latest analysis for HireQuest
It'll come as no surprise then, to learn that the analysts have cut their price target 16% to US$16.00.
Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. These estimates imply that revenue is expected to slow, with a forecast annualised decline of 4.5% by the end of 2025. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 20% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 6.9% annually for the foreseeable future. It's pretty clear that HireQuest's revenues are expected to perform substantially worse than the wider industry.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. On the negative side, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of HireQuest's future valuation.