The latest analyst coverage could presage a bad day for ENN Natural Gas Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600803), with the analysts making across-the-board cuts to their statutory estimates that might leave shareholders a little shell-shocked. Revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts were both revised downwards, with analysts seeing grey clouds on the horizon.

After this downgrade, ENN Natural GasLtd's 13 analysts are now forecasting revenues of CN¥150b in 2024. This would be a satisfactory 4.4% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are anticipated to shrink 8.4% to CN¥2.11 in the same period. Before this latest update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of CN¥169b and earnings per share (EPS) of CN¥2.35 in 2024. It looks like analyst sentiment has declined substantially, with a substantial drop in revenue estimates and a considerable drop in earnings per share numbers as well.

Analysts made no major changes to their price target of CN¥22.74, suggesting the downgrades are not expected to have a long-term impact on ENN Natural GasLtd's valuation.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that ENN Natural GasLtd's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 4.4% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 24% over the past five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 10% per year. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that ENN Natural GasLtd is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts cut their earnings per share estimates, expecting a clear decline in business conditions. Unfortunately analysts also downgraded their revenue estimates, and industry data suggests that ENN Natural GasLtd's revenues are expected to grow slower than the wider market. We're also surprised to see that the price target went unchanged. Still, deteriorating business conditions (assuming accurate forecasts!) can be a leading indicator for the stock price, so we wouldn't blame investors for being more cautious on ENN Natural GasLtd after the downgrade.

Still, the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for ENN Natural GasLtd going out to 2026, 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.