It's been a good week for Renasant Corporation (NYSE:RNST) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest quarterly results, and the shares gained 2.0% to US$36.41. Renasant reported US$166m in revenue, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.69 beat expectations, being 4.8% higher than what the analysts expected. 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. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

After the latest results, the six analysts covering Renasant are now predicting revenues of US$672.5m in 2024. If met, this would reflect a modest 7.2% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to climb 19% to US$3.13. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$669.7m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.70 in 2024. Although the revenue estimates have not really changed, we can see there's been a nice gain to earnings per share expectations, suggesting that the analysts have become more bullish after the latest result.

There's been no major changes to the consensus price target of US$35.17, suggesting that the improved earnings per share outlook is not enough to have a long-term positive impact on the stock's valuation. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Renasant analyst has a price target of US$38.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$32.00. With such a narrow range of valuations, the analysts apparently share similar views on what they think the business is worth.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Renasant's past performance and to peers in the same industry. The analysts are definitely expecting Renasant's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 15% annualised growth to the end of 2024 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 1.6% per annum over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 6.3% per year. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect Renasant to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards Renasant following these results. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Additionally, our data suggests that revenue is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. 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. We have estimates - from multiple Renasant analysts - going out to 2025, 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com