Shareholders in SATS Ltd. (SGX:S58) may be thrilled to learn that the analysts have just delivered a major upgrade to their near-term forecasts. The consensus estimated revenue numbers rose, with their view now clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects.

After this upgrade, SATS' six analysts are now forecasting revenues of S$2.7b in 2024. This would be a huge 73% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Losses are expected to turn into profits real soon, with the analysts forecasting S$0.17 in per-share earnings. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of S$2.2b and earnings per share (EPS) of S$0.16 in 2024. The most recent forecasts are noticeably more optimistic, with a considerable lift to revenue estimates and a lift to earnings per share as well.

View our latest analysis for SATS

Despite these upgrades, the analysts have not made any major changes to their price target of S$3.65, suggesting that the higher estimates are not likely to have a long term impact on what the stock is worth. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. The most optimistic SATS analyst has a price target of S$5.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at S$2.92. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await SATS shareholders.

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. One thing stands out from these estimates, which is that SATS is forecast to grow faster in the future than it has in the past, with revenues expected to display 55% annualised growth until the end of 2024. If achieved, this would be a much better result than the 9.4% annual decline over the past five years. Compare this against analyst estimates for the broader industry, which suggest that (in aggregate) industry revenues are expected to grow 15% annually. Not only are SATS' revenues expected to improve, it seems that the analysts are also expecting it to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us from these new estimates is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, with improved earnings power expected for next year. They also upgraded their revenue estimates for next year, and sales are expected to grow faster than the wider market. Given that analysts appear to be expecting substantial improvement in the sales pipeline, now could be the right time to take another look at SATS.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for SATS going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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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.

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