The latest analyst coverage could presage a bad day for Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:NUS), with the analysts making across-the-board cuts to their statutory estimates that might leave shareholders a little shell-shocked. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts went under the knife, suggesting analysts have soured majorly on the business.

Following the latest downgrade, the three analysts covering Nu Skin Enterprises provided consensus estimates of US$1.8b revenue in 2024, which would reflect a measurable 7.9% decline on its sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are presumed to bounce 473% to US$0.99. Prior to this update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$2.0b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.15 in 2024. Indeed, we can see that the analysts are a lot more bearish about Nu Skin Enterprises' prospects, administering a measurable cut to revenue estimates and slashing their EPS estimates to boot.

The consensus price target fell 26% to US$15.50, with the weaker earnings outlook clearly leading analyst valuation estimates.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. Over the past five years, revenues have declined around 4.2% annually. Worse, forecasts are essentially predicting the decline to accelerate, with the estimate for an annualised 7.9% decline in revenue until the end of 2024. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 7.1% per year. So while a broad number of companies are forecast to grow, unfortunately Nu Skin Enterprises is expected to see its sales affected worse than other companies in the industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest issue in the new estimates is that analysts have reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds lay ahead for Nu Skin Enterprises. Unfortunately analysts also downgraded their revenue estimates, and industry data suggests that Nu Skin Enterprises' revenues are expected to grow slower than the wider market. After such a stark change in sentiment from analysts, we'd understand if readers now felt a bit wary of Nu Skin Enterprises.

Even so, the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for the value creation of shareholders. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Nu Skin Enterprises 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 downgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.