Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) just released its quarterly report and things are looking bullish. It was overall a positive result, with revenues beating expectations by 2.9% to hit US$39m. Civista Bancshares also reported a statutory profit of US$0.53, which was an impressive 21% above what the analysts had forecast. 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 Civista Bancshares

After the latest results, the six analysts covering Civista Bancshares are now predicting revenues of US$164.6m in 2025. If met, this would reflect a solid 12% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to rise 4.9% to US$2.04. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$159.9m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.84 in 2025. There's been a pretty noticeable increase in sentiment, with the analysts upgrading revenues and making a nice increase in earnings per share in particular.

It will come as no surprise to learn that the analysts have increased their price target for Civista Bancshares 13% to US$21.83on the back of these upgrades. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Civista Bancshares at US$25.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$20.00. This is a very narrow spread of estimates, implying either that Civista Bancshares is an easy company to value, or - more likely - the analysts are relying heavily on some key assumptions.

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 can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Civista Bancshares'historical trends, as the 9.8% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 is roughly in line with the 9.4% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry, which analyst estimates (in aggregate) suggest will see revenues grow 6.5% annually. So although Civista Bancshares is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's definitely expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around Civista Bancshares' earnings potential next year. Happily, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and are forecasting them to grow faster than 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 Civista Bancshares analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

It might also be worth considering whether Civista Bancshares' debt load is appropriate, using our debt analysis tools on the Simply Wall St platform, here.

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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.