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Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) just released its latest quarterly report and things are not looking great. It wasn't a great result overall - while revenue fell marginally short of analyst estimates at US$23m, statutory earnings missed forecasts by 18%, coming in at just US$0.49 per share. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.
Check out our latest analysis for Peoples Financial Services
After the latest results, the twin analysts covering Peoples Financial Services are now predicting revenues of US$123.1m in 2024. If met, this would reflect a major 27% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to tumble 75% to US$0.83 in the same period. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$140.4m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.58 in 2024. It looks like sentiment has declined substantially in the aftermath of these results, with a real cut to revenue estimates and a pretty serious reduction to earnings per share numbers as well.
The consensus price target fell 8.2% to US$45.00, with the weaker earnings outlook clearly leading valuation estimates.
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 Peoples Financial Services' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 38% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 6.1% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 6.0% annually. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect Peoples Financial Services to grow faster 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. They also downgraded Peoples Financial Services' revenue estimates, but industry data suggests that it is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. Furthermore, the analysts also cut their price targets, suggesting that the latest news has led to greater pessimism about the intrinsic value of the business.