Analyst Estimates: Here's What Brokers Think Of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) After Its Full-Year Report

Agilent Technologies, Inc. +1.97%

Agilent Technologies, Inc.

A

140.58

+1.97%

Investors in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) had a good week, as its shares rose 7.4% to close at US$138 following the release of its annual results. Results were roughly in line with estimates, with revenues of US$6.5b and statutory earnings per share of US$4.43. 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. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
NYSE:A Earnings and Revenue Growth November 28th 2024

Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for Agilent Technologies from 18 analysts is for revenues of US$6.83b in 2025. If met, it would imply a reasonable 4.9% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to increase 6.5% to US$4.81. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$6.83b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$4.89 in 2025. 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.

There were no changes to revenue or earnings estimates or the price target of US$149, suggesting that the company has met expectations in its recent result. 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 Agilent Technologies, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$165 and the most bearish at US$135 per share. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Agilent Technologies is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Agilent Technologies'historical trends, as the 4.9% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 is roughly in line with the 5.9% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry (in aggregate), which analyst estimates suggest will see revenues grow 6.4% annually. So it's pretty clear that Agilent Technologies is expected to grow slower than similar companies in the same 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. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that Agilent Technologies' revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$149, 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 Agilent Technologies going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You can also see whether Agilent Technologies is carrying too much debt, and whether its balance sheet is healthy, for free on our platform here.

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