Southwestern Energy Increases Sales but Misses Estimates on Earnings

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Southwestern Energy (NYS: SWN) filed its 10-K on Feb. 28. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Southwestern Energy missed slightly on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
Southwestern Energy reported revenue of $538.3 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $547.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $670.4 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 $0.45. The 26 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.48 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.45 for Q4 were 4.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.43 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 69.3%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 35.5%, 280 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 21.3%, 100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $538.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.34.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.37 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.52.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 984 members out of 1,019 rating the stock outperform, and 35 members rating it underperform. Among 205 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 202 give Southwestern Energy 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 Southwestern Energy is outperform, with an average price target of $44.31.

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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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