InvoCare Limited (ASX:IVC) investors will be delighted, with the company turning in some strong numbers with its latest results. The company beat both earnings and revenue forecasts, with revenue of AU$532m, some 3.2% above estimates, and statutory earnings per share (EPS) coming in at AU$0.56, 40% ahead of expectations. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on InvoCare after the latest results.

See our latest analysis for InvoCare

Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for InvoCare from eight analysts is for revenues of AU$576.9m in 2022 which, if met, would be a decent 8.3% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to tumble 27% to AU$0.41 in the same period. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of AU$562.0m and earnings per share (EPS) of AU$0.41 in 2022. There doesn't appear to have been a major change in sentiment following the results, other than the slight bump in revenue estimates.

Even though revenue forecasts increased, there was no change to the consensus price target of AU$13.03, suggesting the analysts are focused on earnings as the driver of value creation. 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 InvoCare, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at AU$15.30 and the most bearish at AU$9.90 per share. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the InvoCare's past performance and to peers in the same industry. It's clear from the latest estimates that InvoCare's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 8.3% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2022 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 2.2% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to see revenue growth of 15% annually. So it's clear that despite the acceleration in growth, InvoCare is expected to grow meaningfully slower than the industry average.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. They also upgraded their revenue estimates for next year, even though sales are expected to grow slower than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at AU$13.03, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

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 InvoCare going out to 2024, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for InvoCare you should be aware of.

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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.