Earnings Beat: Höegh Autoliners ASA Just Beat Analyst Forecasts, And Analysts Have Been Updating Their Models
Last week, you might have seen that Höegh Autoliners ASA (OB:HAUTO) released its second-quarter result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 8.2% to kr174 in the past week. The result was positive overall - although revenues of US$376m were in line with what the analysts predicted, Höegh Autoliners surprised by delivering a statutory profit of US$0.45 per share, modestly greater than expected. 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 Höegh Autoliners after the latest results.
After the latest results, the four analysts covering Höegh Autoliners are now predicting revenues of US$1.52b in 2026. If met, this would reflect a satisfactory 3.7% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to decline 14% to US$1.92 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$1.52b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.06 in 2026. The analysts seem to have become a little more negative on the business after the latest results, given the small dip in their earnings per share numbers for next year.
See our latest analysis for Höegh Autoliners
The consensus price target held steady at kr156, with the analysts seemingly voting that their lower forecast earnings are not expected to lead to a lower stock price in the foreseeable future. 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 Höegh Autoliners, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at kr189 and the most bearish at kr122 per share. With such a wide range in price targets, analysts are almost certainly betting on widely divergent outcomes in the underlying business. As a result it might not be a great idea to make decisions based on the consensus price target, which is after all just an average of this wide range of estimates.
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 Höegh Autoliners'historical trends, as the 7.4% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2026 is roughly in line with the 7.8% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry (in aggregate), which analyst estimates suggest will see revenues fall 0.09% per year. So not only is Höegh Autoliners expected to maintain its revenue growth despite the wider downturn, it's also forecast to grow faster than the industry as a whole.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Their estimates also suggest that Höegh Autoliners' revenue is expected to perform better 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. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Höegh Autoliners going out to 2028, and you can see them free on our platform here..
It is also worth noting that we have found 4 warning signs for Höegh Autoliners (2 are concerning!) that you need to take into consideration.
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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.