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Investors in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) had a good week, as its shares rose 3.4% to close at US$172 following the release of its first-quarter results. It looks like a credible result overall - although revenues of US$1.3b were what the analysts expected, Nexstar Media Group surprised by delivering a (statutory) profit of US$5.16 per share, an impressive 30% above what was forecast. 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 thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.
View our latest analysis for Nexstar Media Group
Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Nexstar Media Group's ten analysts is for revenues of US$5.56b in 2024. This would reflect a decent 12% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to leap 103% to US$25.27. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$5.57b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$24.78 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.
The analysts reconfirmed their price target of US$199, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. 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. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Nexstar Media Group at US$225 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$170. 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.
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. It's clear from the latest estimates that Nexstar Media Group's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 16% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 12% 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 3.2% per year. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect Nexstar Media Group to grow faster than the wider industry.