Peabody Energy Goes Red

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Peabody Energy (NYS: BTU) reported earnings on Jan. 29. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped and GAAP earnings per share dropped to a loss.


Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
 Peabody Energy recorded revenue of $2.02 billion. The 16 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw sales of $1.93 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 7.7% lower than the prior-year quarter's $2.19 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 -$1.12. The 24 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.26 per share. GAAP EPS were -$3.78 for Q4 against $0.81 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 23.4%, 1,120 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.9%, 1,370 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -49.9%, 6,010 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $1.87 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.02.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $8.08 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.89.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,996 members out of 2,085 rating the stock outperform, and 89 members rating it underperform. Among 390 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 373 give Peabody Energy a green thumbs-up, and 17 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Peabody Energy is outperform, with an average price target of $32.13.

Is Peabody Energy the right energy stock for you? Read about a handful of timely, profit-producing plays on expensive crude in "3 Stocks for $100 Oil." Click here for instant access to this free report.

The article Peabody Energy Goes Red 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 position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Advertisement