This Just In: Analysts Are Boosting Their Accent Group Limited (ASX:AX1) Outlook for This Year

Accent Group Limited (ASX:AX1) shareholders will have a reason to smile today, with the analysts making substantial upgrades to this year's statutory forecasts. The consensus statutory numbers for both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) increased, with their view clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects. Investor sentiment seems to be improving too, with the share price up 8.5% to AU$1.47 over the past 7 days. Whether the upgrade is enough to drive the stock price higher is yet to be seen, however.

Following the upgrade, the consensus from three analysts covering Accent Group is for revenues of AU$818m in 2020, implying a measurable 3.8% decline in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are anticipated to reduce 4.3% to AU$0.098 in the same period. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of AU$706m and earnings per share (EPS) of AU$0.072 in 2020. So we can see there's been a pretty clear increase in analyst sentiment in recent times, with both revenues and earnings per share receiving a decent lift in the latest estimates.

View our latest analysis for Accent Group

With these upgrades, we're not surprised to see that the analysts have lifted their price target 17% to AU$1.73 per share. 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 Accent Group, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at AU$1.90 and the most bearish at AU$1.53 per share. With such a narrow range of valuations, analysts apparently share similar views on what they think the business is worth.

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. We would highlight that sales are expected to reverse, with the forecast 3.8% revenue decline a notable change from historical growth of 28% 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 6.2% next year. It's pretty clear that Accent Group's revenues are expected to perform substantially worse than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us from these new estimates is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, with improved earnings power expected for this year. Pleasantly, analysts also upgraded their revenue estimates, and their forecasts suggest the business is expected to grow slower than the wider market. Given that the consensus looks almost universally bullish, with a substantial increase to forecasts and a higher price target, Accent Group could be worth investigating further.

Still, the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple Accent Group analysts - going out to 2022, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are upgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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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