The quarterly results for Hulic Co., Ltd. (TSE:3003) were released last week, making it a good time to revisit its performance. It looks like the results were a bit of a negative overall. While revenues of JP¥158b were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings were less than expected, missing estimates by 5.0% to hit JP¥25.66 per share. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.
Following the latest results, Hulic's seven analysts are now forecasting revenues of JP¥938.7b in 2027. This would be a modest 6.9% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to increase 7.6% to JP¥175. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of JP¥949.1b and earnings per share (EPS) of JP¥173 in 2027. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.
Check out our latest analysis for Hulic
It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at JP¥1,966. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. The most optimistic Hulic analyst has a price target of JP¥2,210 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at JP¥1,800. Still, with such a tight range of estimates, it suggeststhe analysts have a pretty good idea of what they think the company is worth.
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. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Hulic's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2027 expected to display 5.5% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 14% over the past five years. Compare this to the 109 other companies in this industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenue at 4.7% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while Hulic's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's expected to grow roughly in line with the industry.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. They also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, with the company predicted to grow at about the same rate as 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.
Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have forecasts for Hulic going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here.
We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 2 warning signs for Hulic (1 is significant!) that you need to be mindful of.
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