Clean Energy Fuels Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Clean Energy Fuels (NAS: CLNE) reported earnings on Nov. 5. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Clean Energy Fuels crushed expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 Clean Energy Fuels chalked up revenue of $91.5 million. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for a top line of $74.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 27% higher than the prior-year quarter's $72.1 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 -$0.19. The nine earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated -$0.19 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.19 for Q3 compared to -$0.16 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 22.1%, 470 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -21.2%, 960 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -17.8%, 200 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $87.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.18.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $304.7 million. The average EPS estimate is -$0.76.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,625 members out of 1,674 rating the stock outperform, and 49 members rating it underperform. Among 265 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 255 give Clean Energy Fuels a green thumbs-up, and 10 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Clean Energy Fuels is hold, with an average price target of $16.97.

Are you missing a major story in the energy space? Read about "One Stock to Own Before Nat Gas Act 2011 Becomes Law." Click here for instant access to this free report.

The article Clean Energy Fuels Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again 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 owns shares of Clean Energy Fuels. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Clean Energy Fuels. 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.

Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Advertisement