Western Gas Partners Beats on Revenue, Matches Expectations on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Western Gas Partners (NYS: WES) reported earnings on May 2. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Western Gas Partners beat expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
Western Gas Partners logged revenue of $212.2 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw revenue of $204.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 56% higher than the prior-year quarter's $136.0 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 $0.48. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.48 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.48 for Q1 were 12% 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 46.7%, 350 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 27.3%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 22.7%, 300 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $212.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.47.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $869.1 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.89.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 251 members out of 255 rating the stock outperform, and four members rating it underperform. Among 72 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 72 give Western Gas Partners a green thumbs-up, and give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Western Gas Partners is outperform, with an average price target of $48.64.

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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. He is the 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 don't 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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