Charting WGL Holdings's Latest Earnings Release

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

WGL Holdings (NYS: WGL) reported earnings on Nov. 16. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q4), WGL Holdings missed estimates on revenues and exceeded expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank and GAAP earnings per share grew.


Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
 WGL Holdings reported revenue of $419.8 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated sales of $453.6 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 6.3% lower than the prior-year quarter's $448.1 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 -$0.10. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.27 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.15 for Q4 against -$0.60 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 14.4%, 1,150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 3.1%, 1,050 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.9%, 870 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $743.9 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.08.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.61 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.59.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 75 members out of 78 rating the stock outperform, and three members rating it underperform. Among 27 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 27 give WGL Holdings a green thumbs-up, and give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on WGL Holdings is hold, with an average price target of $41.14.

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The article Charting WGL Holdings's Latest Earnings Release 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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