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Investors in Krones AG (ETR:KRN) had a good week, as its shares rose 4.7% to close at €129 following the release of its quarterly results. Results were roughly in line with estimates, with revenues of €1.2b and statutory earnings per share of €2.08. 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 Krones after the latest results.
See our latest analysis for Krones
After the latest results, the ten analysts covering Krones are now predicting revenues of €5.29b in 2024. If met, this would reflect a decent 9.7% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to soar 22% to €8.76. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of €5.28b and earnings per share (EPS) of €8.79 in 2024. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.
There were no changes to revenue or earnings estimates or the price target of €145, suggesting that the company has met expectations in its recent result. 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. The most optimistic Krones analyst has a price target of €163 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €130. 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.
Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. It's clear from the latest estimates that Krones' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 13% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 4.4% p.a. over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 4.3% per year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Krones is expected to grow much faster than its industry.