Shareholders might have noticed that The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) filed its yearly result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 6.2% to US$131 in the past week. Results were roughly in line with estimates, with revenues of US$4.3b and statutory earnings per share of US$5.12. 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.

See our latest analysis for Ensign Group

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Ensign Group's six analysts is for revenues of US$4.86b in 2025. This reflects a decent 14% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to rise 8.6% to US$5.67. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$4.76b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$5.60 in 2025. There doesn't appear to have been a major change in sentiment following the results, other than the small lift in revenue estimates.

Even though revenue forecasts increased, there was no change to the consensus price target of US$166, suggesting the analysts are focused on earnings as the driver of value creation. 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 Ensign Group, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$175 and the most bearish at US$155 per share. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Ensign Group is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Ensign Group'shistorical trends, as the 14% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 is roughly in line with the 15% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry, which analyst estimates (in aggregate) suggest will see revenues grow 7.1% annually. So although Ensign Group is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's definitely expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

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. Pleasantly, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and their forecasts suggest the business is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$166, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

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 estimates - from multiple Ensign Group analysts - going out to 2027, 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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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.