Last week, you might have seen that Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) released its second-quarter result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 3.8% to US$15.02 in the past week. Universal Technical Institute beat revenue expectations by 4.0%, at US$184m. Statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in at US$0.14, some 4.1% short of analyst estimates. 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. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for Universal Technical Institute

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Universal Technical Institute's five analysts is for revenues of US$724.5m in 2024. This would reflect a credible 6.2% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to leap 130% to US$0.71. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$717.3m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.70 in 2024. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

The consensus price target rose 10% to US$19.40despite there being no meaningful change to earnings estimates. It could be that the analystsare reflecting the predictability of Universal Technical Institute's earnings by assigning a price premium. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Universal Technical Institute at US$20.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$18.00. This is a very narrow spread of estimates, implying either that Universal Technical Institute is an easy company to value, or - more likely - the analysts are relying heavily on some key 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. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Universal Technical Institute's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 13% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 17% over the past five years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 11% annually. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it looks like Universal Technical Institute is forecast to grow at about the same rate as 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. They also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, with the company predicted to grow at about the same rate as 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.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have estimates - from multiple Universal Technical Institute analysts - going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Universal Technical Institute (1 doesn't sit too well with us) you should be aware of.

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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.