Rentech Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Rentech (ASE: RTK) reported earnings on May 10. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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


Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
Rentech booked revenue of $38.6 million. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated a top line of $29.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 55% higher than the prior-year quarter's $24.9 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 -$0.02. The three earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged -$0.02 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.01 for Q1 versus -$0.03 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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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 58.7%, 1,780 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 15.7%, 3,360 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -8.5%, 2,180 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $82.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.06.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $206.8 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.04.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 349 members out of 399 rating the stock outperform, and 50 members rating it underperform. Among 52 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 33 give Rentech a green thumbs-up, and 19 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Rentech is outperform, with an average price target of $3.36.

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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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