Shareholders might have noticed that Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) filed its quarterly result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 2.1% to US$68.67 in the past week. Revenues of US$212m arrived in line with expectations, although statutory losses per share were US$0.11, an impressive 66% smaller than what broker models predicted. 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. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Citi Trends' dual analysts is for revenues of US$909.7m in 2027. This reflects an okay 4.6% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to jump 89% to US$1.71. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$906.0m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.46 in 2027. Although the revenue estimates have not really changed, we can see there's been a nice increase in earnings per share expectations, suggesting that the analysts have become more bullish after the latest result.

The analysts have been lifting their price targets on the back of the earnings upgrade, with the consensus price target rising 18% to US$91.00.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. One thing stands out from these estimates, which is that Citi Trends is forecast to grow faster in the future than it has in the past, with revenues expected to display 9.3% annualised growth until the end of 2027. If achieved, this would be a much better result than the 3.5% annual decline over the past five years. Compare this against analyst estimates for the broader industry, which suggest that (in aggregate) industry revenues are expected to grow 6.0% annually. Not only are Citi Trends' revenues expected to improve, it seems that the analysts are also expecting it 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 Citi Trends 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. We note an upgrade to the price target, suggesting that the analysts believes the intrinsic value of the business is likely to improve over time.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have analyst estimates for Citi Trends going out as far as 2029, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You can also see our analysis of Citi Trends' Board and CEO remuneration and experience, and whether company insiders have been buying stock.

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.