It's Showtime for Hercules Offshore

Hercules Offshore (NAS: HERO) is expected to report Q4 earnings on Feb. 12. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Hercules Offshore's revenues will increase 16.4% and EPS will remain in the red.

The average estimate for revenue is $189.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.06.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Hercules Offshore logged revenue of $184.9 million. GAAP reported sales were 13% higher than the prior-year quarter's $163.0 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at -$0.10. GAAP EPS were -$0.24 for Q3 versus -$0.12 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 38.9%, 720 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.4%, 1,000 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -20.5%, 1,010 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $694.9 million. The average EPS estimate is -$0.55.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,550 members out of 1,614 rating the stock outperform, and 64 members rating it underperform. Among 387 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 377 give Hercules Offshore 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 Hercules Offshore is outperform, with an average price target of $5.51.

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The article It's Showtime for Hercules Offshore 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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