(Reuters) – Citigroup On Wednesday, (NYSE:) analysts raised the price target for 2022. They expect it to surpass the 5,000 mark for the first-time. This is because the brokerage anticipates that strong corporate earnings will continue in the coming year.

Earnings results from S&P 500 companies in 2021 blew past analyst estimates to deliver year-on-year growth in the first three quarters of 52.8%, 96.3% and 42.6%, respectively, according to Refinitiv, which currently sees fourth-quarter annual earnings growth of 22.3%.

The 2021 year saw a lot of success for consumers, companies, and the wider economy. This was due to several factors, including the transfer of power within the U.S. government and the phenomenon known as “meme stock”, generous fiscal and monetary stimulus, high demand, and price rises.

Citigroup analysts raised their price target for the S&P 500 to 5,100 from 4,900 set in October, cautioning that a U.S. Federal Reserve policy tightening could pose valuation headwinds.

The S&P 500 rose about 27% in 2021, gaining more than 3% in the last two months alone. The S&P 500 closed Tuesday at 4793.54

Scott Chronert from Citigroup said the future quarterly results and outlook for 2022 could give growth a cushion, even with COVID-19 or supply chain woes.