Healthcare Services Group, Inc. Just Beat EPS By 35%: Here's What Analysts Think Will Happen Next
The third-quarter results for Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) were released last week, making it a good time to revisit its performance. It looks like a credible result overall – although revenues of US$436m were what the analysts expected, Healthcare Services Group surprised by delivering a (statutory) profit of US$0.37 per share, an impressive 35% above what was forecast. 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. Readers will be glad to know we’ve aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Healthcare Services Group after the latest results.
Check out our latest analysis for Healthcare Services Group
Taking into account the latest results, Healthcare Services Group’s nine analysts currently expect revenues in 2021 to be US$1.78b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory per share are forecast to be US$1.22, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$1.83b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.22 in 2021. The consensus seems maybe a little more pessimistic, trimming their revenue forecasts after the latest results even though there was no change to its EPS estimates.
The consensus has reconfirmed its price target of US$27.29, showing that the analysts don’t expect weaker sales expectations next year to have a material impact on Healthcare Services Group’s market value. That’s not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. There are some variant perceptions on Healthcare Services Group, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$34.00 and the most bearish at US$24.00 per share. This shows there is still a bit of diversity in estimates, but analysts don’t appear to be totally split on the stock as though it might be a success or failure situation.
These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Healthcare Services Group’s past performance and to peers in the same industry. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast revenue decline of 0.006%, a significant reduction from annual growth of 5.8% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 5.8% next year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining – Healthcare Services Group is expected to lag the wider industry.
The Bottom Line
The most obvious conclusion is that there’s been no major change in the business’ prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Unfortunately, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates revenues are expected to perform worse than the wider industry. Even so, earnings per share are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. Even so, long term profitability is more important for the value creation process. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.
With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company’s earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Healthcare Services Group going out to 2024, and you can see them free on our platform here..
Another thing to consider is whether management and directors have been buying or selling stock recently. We provide an overview of all open market stock trades for the last twelve months on our platform, here.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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