SM Energy Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

SM Energy (NYS: SM) reported earnings on Feb. 21. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), SM Energy beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Gross margins shrank, operating margins increased, net margins grew.

Revenue details
SM Energy logged revenue of $444.3 million. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted net sales of $416.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 8.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $410.7 million.

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 $0.45. The 24 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.24 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.45 for Q4 were 25% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.60 per share. GAAP EPS were -$1.02 for Q4 versus -$1.89 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 73.1%, 260 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -21.9%, 1,610 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -15.1%, 1,430 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $431.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.28.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.89 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.76.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 280 members out of 297 rating the stock outperform, and 17 members rating it underperform. Among 64 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 59 give SM 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 SM Energy is outperform, with an average price target of $69.60.

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The article SM Energy Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines 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. TMFDisclosureHere

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