Yahoo Finance Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting For First Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:THFF) After Its First-Quarter Results
The analysts might have been a bit too bullish on First Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:THFF), given that the company fell short of expectations when it released its quarterly results last week. First Financial missed analyst forecasts, with revenues of US$48m and statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.93, falling short by 4.8% and 5.1% respectively. 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. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on First Financial after the latest results.
View our latest analysis for First Financial
Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for First Financial from three analysts is for revenues of US$220.5m in 2024. If met, it would imply a meaningful 12% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to descend 19% to US$3.82 in the same period. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$229.8m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$4.44 in 2024. The analysts seem less optimistic after the recent results, reducing their revenue forecasts and making a substantial drop in earnings per share numbers.
Despite the cuts to forecast earnings, there was no real change to the US$42.50 price target, showing that the analysts don't think the changes have a meaningful impact on its intrinsic value. 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 First Financial analyst has a price target of US$43.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$42.00. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting First Financial is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.
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 clear from the latest estimates that First Financial's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 16% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 6.6% p.a. 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 6.0% per year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that First Financial is expected to grow much faster than its industry.
The Bottom Line
The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for First Financial. Regrettably, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, but the latest forecasts still imply the business will 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.
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 estimates - from multiple First Financial analysts - going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.
And what about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for First Financial you should know about.
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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.
