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Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) just released its latest first-quarter results and things are looking bullish. The company beat both earnings and revenue forecasts, with revenue of US$693m, some 7.4% above estimates, and statutory earnings per share (EPS) coming in at US$1.01, 68% ahead of expectations. 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.
Check out our latest analysis for Hillenbrand
Taking into account the latest results, Hillenbrand's four analysts currently expect revenues in 2021 to be US$2.65b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to bounce 818% to US$2.37. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$2.64b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.23 in 2021. So the consensus seems to have become somewhat more optimistic on Hillenbrand's earnings potential following these results.
The consensus price target rose 5.2% to US$51.00, suggesting that higher earnings estimates flow through to the stock's valuation as well. 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 Hillenbrand, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$52.00 and the most bearish at US$46.00 per share. The narrow spread of estimates could suggest that the business' future is relatively easy to value, or thatthe analysts have a strong view on its prospects.
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. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Hillenbrand's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues next year expected to grow 0.2%, compared to a historical growth rate of 10% over the past five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 7.5% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than Hillenbrand.