The Gory Details on Swift Energy's Double Fumble

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Swift Energy (NYS: SFY) reported earnings on May 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Swift Energy missed estimates on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 Swift Energy booked revenue of $135.9 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated sales of $138.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.8% lower than the prior-year quarter's $144.2 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 $0.08. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.23 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.08 for Q1 were 83% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.47 per share. (The prior-year quarter included $0.00 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

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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 78.5%, 390 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 14.2%, 1,420 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.6%, 1,140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $143.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.14.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $626.3 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.92.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 256 members out of 279 rating the stock outperform, and 23 members rating it underperform. Among 57 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 52 give Swift Energy a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Swift Energy is outperform, with an average price target of $43.72.

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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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