Zhejiang Huatong Meat Products Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002840) shareholders will have a reason to smile today, with the covering analyst making substantial upgrades to this year's statutory forecasts. The analyst has sharply increased their revenue numbers, with a view that Zhejiang Huatong Meat Products will make substantially more sales than they'd previously expected. Zhejiang Huatong Meat Products has also found favour with investors, with the stock up a remarkable 11% to CN¥21.95 over the past week. It will be interesting to see if today's upgrade is enough to propel the stock even higher.

Following the upgrade, the most recent consensus for Zhejiang Huatong Meat Products from its solo analyst is for revenues of CN¥15b in 2022 which, if met, would be a huge 95% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Losses are expected to turn into profits real soon, with the analyst forecasting CN¥1.03 in per-share earnings. Before this latest update, the analyst had been forecasting revenues of CN¥13b and earnings per share (EPS) of CN¥0.09 in 2022. There has definitely been an improvement in perception recently, with the analyst substantially increasing both their earnings and revenue estimates.

View our latest analysis for Zhejiang Huatong Meat Products

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. The analyst is definitely expecting Zhejiang Huatong Meat Products' growth to accelerate, with the forecast 95% annualised growth to the end of 2022 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 16% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 16% annually. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analyst also expect Zhejiang Huatong Meat Products to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us from these new estimates is that the analyst upgraded their earnings per share estimates, with improved earnings power expected for this year. Fortunately, the analyst also upgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates sales are expected to perform better than the wider market. Seeing the dramatic upgrade to this year's forecasts, it might be time to take another look at Zhejiang Huatong Meat Products.

The covering analyst is definitely bullish on Zhejiang Huatong Meat Products, but no company is perfect. Indeed, you should know that there are several potential concerns to be aware of, including dilutive stock issuance over the past year. You can learn more, and discover the 2 other flags we've identified, for free on our platform here.

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are upgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks 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.