Celebrations may be in order for Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a significant upgrade to their statutory estimates for the company. Consensus estimates suggest investors could expect greatly increased statutory revenues and earnings per share, with the analysts modelling a real improvement in business performance. The market may be pricing in some blue sky too, with the share price gaining 18% to US$693 in the last 7 days. Could this upgrade be enough to drive the stock even higher?

Following the upgrade, the current consensus from Quanta Services' 25 analysts is for revenues of US$40b in 2026 which - if met - would reflect a substantial 20% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are presumed to bounce 29% to US$11.35. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$35b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$9.66 in 2026. So we can see there's been a pretty clear increase in analyst sentiment in recent times, with both revenues and earnings per share receiving a decent lift in the latest estimates.

Although the analysts have upgraded their earnings estimates, there was no change to the consensus price target of US$765, suggesting that the forecast performance does not have a long term impact on the company's valuation.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Quanta Services' past performance and to peers in the same industry. The analysts are definitely expecting Quanta Services' growth to accelerate, with the forecast 45% annualised growth to the end of 2026 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 19% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 12% annually. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect Quanta Services to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away from this upgrade is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates for this year, expecting improving business conditions. Fortunately, analysts also upgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates sales are expected to perform better than the wider market. The lack of change in the price target is puzzling, but with a serious upgrade to this year's earnings expectations, it might be time to take another look at Quanta Services.

Even so, the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for the value creation of shareholders. We have estimates - from multiple Quanta Services analysts - going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Another thing to consider is whether management and directors have been buying or selling stock recently. We provide an overview of all open market stock trades for the last twelve months on our platform, here.

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.