Boardwalk Pipeline Partners Crushes Earnings Estimates

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners (NYS: BWP) reported earnings today. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Boardwalk Pipeline Partners missed estimates on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

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


Gross margins increased, operating margins were steady, and net margins expanded.

Revenue details
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners logged revenue of $312.9 million. The 10 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $319.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 0.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $311.0 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 $0.53. The nine earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.43 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.45 for Q1 were 15% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.39 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 82.3%, 120 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 43.4%, about the same as the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 29.6%, 290 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $276.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.28.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.21 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.37.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 402 members rating the stock outperform, and 21 members rating it underperform. Among 140 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 138 give Boardwalk Pipeline Partners 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 Boardwalk Pipeline Partners is hold, with an average price target of $29.92.

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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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