American Water Works Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

American Water Works (NYS: AWK) reported earnings on Feb. 27. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
American Water Works reported revenue of $639.8 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $722.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 3.7% lower than the prior-year quarter's $664.5 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 $0.36. The 13 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.33 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.36 for Q4 were 57% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.23 per share.

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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 49.4%, 350 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 27.7%, 920 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 10.1%, 410 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $642.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.28.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.95 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.95.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 216 members out of 229 rating the stock outperform, and 13 members rating it underperform. Among 49 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 47 give American Water Works 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 American Water Works is outperform, with an average price target of $33.53.

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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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