Charting OneBeacon Insurance Group's Latest Earnings Release

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

OneBeacon Insurance Group (NYS: OB) reported earnings on Feb. 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank slightly and GAAP earnings per share expanded significantly.

Gross margins grew, operating margins dropped, and net margins expanded.

Revenue details
OneBeacon Insurance Group notched revenue of $303.7 million. The one analyst polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $291.3 million. Sales were 0.1% lower than the prior-year quarter's $312.7 million.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.16. The five earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.27 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.32 for Q4 were 33% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.24 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 12.7%, 210 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 11.9%, 120 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 10.1%, 260 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.27.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.14 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.06.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 66 members out of 83 rating the stock outperform, and 17 members rating it underperform. Among 21 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 18 give OneBeacon Insurance Group a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on OneBeacon Insurance Group is hold, with an average price target of $13.88.

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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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