Knife River Corporation (NYSE:KNF) shareholders are probably feeling a little disappointed, since its shares fell 5.5% to US$72.62 in the week after its latest quarterly results. Revenues were US$807m, approximately in line with expectations, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) performed substantially better. EPS of US$1.37 were also better than expected, beating analyst predictions by 12%. 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. 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 Knife River

Taking into account the latest results, Knife River's six analysts currently expect revenues in 2024 to be US$2.89b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to accumulate 6.4% to US$3.72. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$2.90b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.53 in 2024. The analysts seems to have become more bullish on the business, judging by their new earnings per share estimates.

The consensus price target was unchanged at US$91.83, implying that the improved earnings outlook is not expected to have a long term impact on value creation for shareholders. 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. There are some variant perceptions on Knife River, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$115 and the most bearish at US$85.00 per share. As you can see, analysts are not all in agreement on the stock's future, but the range of estimates is still reasonably narrow, which could suggest that the outcome is not totally unpredictable.

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. We would highlight that Knife River's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 1.4% annualised growth rate until the end of 2024 being well below the historical 10% growth over the last year. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 6.3% annually. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Knife River is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.