Navigant Consulting Outruns Estimates Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Navigant Consulting (NYS: NCI) reported earnings on Feb. 2. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Navigant Consulting beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
Navigant Consulting booked revenue of $197.0 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $189.7 million. Sales were 7.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $182.9 million.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.22. The seven earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.19 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.21 for Q4 were much higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.01 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 29.8%, 120 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.9%, 230 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.6%, 530 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $194.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.21.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $817.4 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.93.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 129 members rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 44 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 42 give Navigant Consulting a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Navigant Consulting is outperform, with an average price target of $15.17.

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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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