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CGI Inc. (TSE:GIB.A) Just Reported And Analysts Have Been Lifting Their Price Targets

Simply Wall St
·4 min read

It's been a good week for CGI Inc. (TSE:GIB.A) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest yearly results, and the shares gained 3.8% to CA$88.80. CGI reported in line with analyst predictions, delivering revenues of CA$12b and statutory earnings per share of CA$4.20, suggesting the business is executing well and in line with its plan. 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. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

View our latest analysis for CGI

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earnings-and-revenue-growth

Following the latest results, CGI's 14 analysts are now forecasting revenues of CA$12.5b in 2021. This would be an okay 3.0% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to ascend 13% to CA$5.09. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of CA$12.6b and earnings per share (EPS) of CA$5.10 in 2021. 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.

The consensus price target rose 9.8% to CA$111despite there being no meaningful change to earnings estimates. It could be that the analystsare reflecting the predictability of CGI's earnings by assigning a price premium. 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. Currently, the most bullish analyst values CGI at CA$250 per share, while the most bearish prices it at CA$73.00. We would probably assign less value to the analyst forecasts in this situation, because such a wide range of estimates could imply that the future of this business is difficult to value accurately. With this in mind, we wouldn't rely too heavily the consensus price target, as it is just an average and analysts clearly have some deeply divergent views on the business.

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. We would highlight that CGI's revenue growth is expected to slow, with forecast 3.0% increase next year well below the historical 3.8%p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 6.7% per year. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that CGI is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.

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. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply revenues will perform worse than the wider industry. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with the analysts clearly feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving.

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. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for CGI going out to 2022, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Before you take the next step you should know about the 2 warning signs for CGI that we have uncovered.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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