Hercules Offshore Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Hercules Offshore (NAS: HERO) reported earnings on Feb. 9. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank, and GAAP loss per share contracted.

Gross margins contracted, operating margins dropped, and net margins increased.

Revenue details
Hercules Offshore recorded revenue of $162.8 million. The 12 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted sales of $158.6 million. GAAP sales were 5.5% lower than the prior-year quarter's $172.3 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at -$0.16. The 18 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged -$0.19 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.16 for Q4 compared to -$0.73 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 31.0%, 1,700 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -6.2%, 1,040 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -13.2%, 3,590 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $158.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.18.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $715.4 million. The average EPS estimate is -$0.39.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,582 members rating the stock outperform and 71 members rating it underperform. Among 470 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 460 give Hercules Offshore a green thumbs-up, and 10 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Hercules Offshore is hold, with an average price target of $5.36.

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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. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Hercules Offshore. 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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