CONSOL Energy Makes Analysts Look Bad

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

CONSOL Energy (NYS: CNX) reported earnings on Oct. 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), CONSOL Energy missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank significantly and GAAP earnings per share dropped to a loss. The non-GAAP profit was a surprise, as analysts had predicted a loss.


Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
 CONSOL Energy notched revenue of $1.16 billion. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated sales of $1.21 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 23% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.50 billion.

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 $0.12. The 18 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast -$0.04 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.05 for Q3 versus $0.73 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 25.3%, 1,100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 2.0%, 1,480 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -1.0%, 1,220 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.31 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.24.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $5.30 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.91.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 636 members out of 693 rating the stock outperform, and 57 members rating it underperform. Among 130 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 118 give CONSOL Energy a green thumbs-up, and 12 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on CONSOL Energy is outperform, with an average price target of $40.52.

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The article CONSOL Energy Makes Analysts Look Bad originally appeared on Fool.com.

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. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. 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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