Hitachi, Ltd. Earnings Missed Analyst Estimates: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting Now
Shareholders might have noticed that Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501) filed its half-yearly result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 8.4% to JP¥5,094 in the past week. It looks like the results were a bit of a negative overall. While revenues of JP¥5.6t were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings were less than expected, missing estimates by 6.9% to hit JP¥50.96 per share. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.
After the latest results, the 15 analysts covering Hitachi are now predicting revenues of JP¥12t in 2027. If met, this would reflect a credible 3.5% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to leap 33% to JP¥221. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of JP¥12t and earnings per share (EPS) of JP¥217 in 2027. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.
View our latest analysis for Hitachi
The analysts reconfirmed their price target of JP¥6,507, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. The most optimistic Hitachi analyst has a price target of JP¥7,800 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at JP¥5,200. This shows there is still a bit of diversity in estimates, but analysts don't appear to be totally split on the stock as though it might be a success or failure situation.
Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. The analysts are definitely expecting Hitachi's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 7.0% annualised growth to the end of 2027 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 0.2% per annum over the past five years. Other similar companies in the industry (with analyst coverage) are also forecast to grow their revenue at 8.1% per year. Hitachi is expected to grow at about the same rate as its industry, so it's not clear that we can draw any conclusions from its growth relative to competitors.
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 reconfirmed their revenue estimates, with the company predicted to grow at about the same rate as the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at JP¥6,507, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.
With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have forecasts for Hitachi going out to 2029, 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.
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