National Fuel Gas Whiffs on Revenues

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

National Fuel Gas (NYS: NFG) reported earnings on May 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q2), National Fuel Gas whiffed on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

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


Gross margins expanded, operating margins expanded, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
National Fuel Gas reported revenue of $552.3 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw a top line of $619.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 16% lower than the prior-year quarter's $660.9 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 $0.89. The 10 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.89 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.81 for Q2 were 41% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.38 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 40.9%, 500 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 23.9%, 60 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 12.2%, 530 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $401.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.47.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.79 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.47.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 199 members out of 209 rating the stock outperform, and 10 members rating it underperform. Among 56 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 53 give National Fuel Gas 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 National Fuel Gas is outperform, with an average price target of $63.55.

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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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