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As you might know, ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) recently reported its quarterly numbers. It looks like a credible result overall - although revenues of US$1.8b were what the analysts expected, ICL Group surprised by delivering a (statutory) profit of US$0.09 per share, an impressive 32% above what was forecast. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on ICL Group after the latest results.
View our latest analysis for ICL Group
After the latest results, the six analysts covering ICL Group are now predicting revenues of US$7.35b in 2025. If met, this would reflect a satisfactory 6.0% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to increase 2.8% to US$0.32. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$7.38b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.33 in 2025. The analysts seem to have become a little more negative on the business after the latest results, given the small dip in their earnings per share numbers for next year.
It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target was broadly unchanged at US$4.74, with the analysts clearly implying that the forecast decline in earnings is not expected to have much of an impact on valuation. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. Currently, the most bullish analyst values ICL Group at US$5.50 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$4.00. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await ICL Group shareholders.
Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. We would highlight that ICL Group's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 4.8% annualised growth rate until the end of 2025 being well below the historical 10% p.a. growth over the last five years. Compare this to the 127 other companies in this industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenue at 4.5% per year. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it looks like ICL Group is forecast to grow at about the same rate as the wider industry.