WellCare Health Plans Beats on the Top Line

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

WellCare Health Plans (NYS: WCG) reported earnings on Feb. 13. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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


Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
 WellCare Health Plans recorded revenue of $1.99 billion. The eight analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $1.89 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 23% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.60 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 $1.32. The 11 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $1.32 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.11 for Q4 were 43% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.96 per share.

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 14.3%, 780 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.0%, 360 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.5%, 280 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.11 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.82.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $8.45 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.90.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 447 members out of 489 rating the stock outperform, and 42 members rating it underperform. Among 137 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 131 give WellCare Health Plans a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on WellCare Health Plans is outperform, with an average price target of $63.30.

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The article WellCare Health Plans Beats on the Top Line 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.

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