Investors in Kforce Inc. (NYSE:KFRC) had a good week, as its shares rose 2.4% to close at US$55.85 following the release of its third-quarter results. Kforce reported US$353m in revenue, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.75 beat expectations, being 9.2% higher than what the analysts expected. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

Following last week's earnings report, Kforce's five analysts are forecasting 2025 revenues to be US$1.42b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to dip 7.3% to US$2.79 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$1.47b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.39 in 2025. From this we can that sentiment has definitely become more bearish after the latest results, leading to lower revenue forecasts and a real cut to earnings per share estimates.

It'll come as no surprise then, to learn that the analysts have cut their price target 8.4% to US$63.00. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. There are some variant perceptions on Kforce, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$71.00 and the most bearish at US$58.00 per share. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Kforce is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Kforce's past performance and to peers in the same industry. We would highlight that revenue is expected to reverse, with a forecast 0.6% annualised decline to the end of 2025. That is a notable change from historical growth of 3.0% 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 5.7% per year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Kforce is expected to lag the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for Kforce. Unfortunately, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates underperformance compared to the wider industry. Even so, earnings per share are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. Furthermore, the analysts also cut their price targets, suggesting that the latest news has led to greater pessimism about the intrinsic value of the business.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Kforce going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

You can also view our analysis of Kforce's balance sheet, and whether we think Kforce is carrying too much debt, for free on our platform here.

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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.