One thing we could say about the analysts on Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:LOMA) - they aren't optimistic, having just made a major negative revision to their near-term (statutory) forecasts for the organization. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts went under the knife, suggesting analysts have soured majorly on the business.

Following the downgrade, the latest consensus from Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima's three analysts is for revenues of AR$645b in 2025, which would reflect a major 150% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to surge 44% to AR$882. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of AR$883b and earnings per share (EPS) of AR$1,637 in 2025. It looks like analyst sentiment has declined substantially, with a sizeable cut to revenue estimates and a large cut to earnings per share numbers as well.

View our latest analysis for Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima

The average price target climbed 10% to US$9.08 despite the reduced earnings forecasts, suggesting that this earnings impact could be a positive for the stock, once it passes.

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. It's clear from the latest estimates that Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 108% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 39% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 6.5% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest issue in the new estimates is that analysts have reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds lay ahead for Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima. While analysts did downgrade their revenue estimates, these forecasts still imply revenues will perform better than the wider market. The increasing price target is not intuitively what we would expect to see, given these downgrades, and we'd suggest shareholders revisit their investment thesis before making a decision.

After a downgrade like this one, it's pretty clear that previous forecasts were too optimistic. Worse, it's possible that the forecast future income could struggle to cover Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima'sdividend payments. You can learn more, and discover the 1 possible risk 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 downgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks with high insider ownership.

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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.