Brenntag SE (ETR:BNR) last week reported its latest quarterly results, which makes it a good time for investors to dive in and see if the business is performing in line with expectations. Brenntag reported in line with analyst predictions, delivering revenues of €4.2b and statutory earnings per share of €1.03, suggesting the business is executing well and in line with its plan. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

View our latest analysis for Brenntag

Taking into account the latest results, Brenntag's 16 analysts currently expect revenues in 2024 to be €16.4b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to rise 5.7% to €4.41. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of €16.9b and earnings per share (EPS) of €4.84 in 2024. It's pretty clear that pessimism has reared its head after the latest results, leading to a weaker revenue outlook and a minor downgrade to earnings per share estimates.

Despite the cuts to forecast earnings, there was no real change to the €80.57 price target, showing that the analysts don't think the changes have a meaningful impact on its intrinsic value. 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 Brenntag, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at €104 and the most bearish at €60.00 per share. This shows there is still a bit of diversity in estimates, but analysts don't appear to be totally split on the stock as though it might be a success or failure situation.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Brenntag's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 2.2% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 9.3% over the past five years. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 4.1% annually. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Brenntag is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.