Dover Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Dover (NYS: DOV) reported earnings on Jan. 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Dover met expectations on revenue and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased, and earnings per share improved significantly.

Gross margins contracted, operating margins improved, and net margins expanded.

Revenue details
Dover recorded revenue of $2.00 billion. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $2.02 billion. Sales were 6.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.90 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.07. The earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.04 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $1.49 for Q4 were 43% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.04 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 37.8%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 14.7%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 13.9%, 330 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.0 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.02.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $8.65 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.87.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 262 members out of 276 rating the stock outperform, and 14 members rating it underperform. Among 87 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 86 give Dover a green thumbs-up, and one give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Dover is outperform, with an average price target of $67.27.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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