Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKWD) shareholders will have a reason to smile today, with the analysts making substantial upgrades to next year's forecasts. The consensus estimated revenue numbers rose, with their view now clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects.

After this upgrade, Skyward Specialty Insurance Group's five analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$1.1b in 2024. This would be a substantial 31% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are presumed to surge 32% to US$2.31. Before this latest update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$941m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.20 in 2024. Sentiment certainly seems to have improved in recent times, with a solid increase in revenue and a small lift in earnings per share estimates.

Check out our latest analysis for Skyward Specialty Insurance Group

It will come as no surprise to learn that the analysts have increased their price target for Skyward Specialty Insurance Group 7.3% to US$33.57 on the back of these upgrades.

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. The period to the end of 2024 brings more of the same, according to the analysts, with revenue forecast to display 24% growth on an annualised basis. That is in line with its 20% annual growth over the past three years. Compare this with the broader industry, which analyst estimates (in aggregate) suggest will see revenues grow 6.4% annually. So although Skyward Specialty Insurance Group is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's definitely expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away from this upgrade is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates for next year, expecting improving business conditions. Fortunately, analysts also upgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates sales are expected to perform better than the wider market. There was also an increase in the price target, suggesting that there is more optimism baked into the forecasts than there was previously. Given that analysts appear to be expecting substantial improvement in the sales pipeline, now could be the right time to take another look at Skyward Specialty Insurance Group.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have estimates - from multiple Skyward Specialty Insurance Group analysts - going out to 2025, 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.

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