Great Plains Energy Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Great Plains Energy (NYS: GXP) reported earnings on Feb. 28. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped slightly. Non-GAAP earnings per share grew. GAAP earnings per share expanded significantly.


Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
 Great Plains Energy reported revenue of $480.4 million. The two analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $477.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were much higher than the prior-year quarter's $486.3 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 $0.03. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.02 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.03 for Q4 were 200% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.01 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.28 for Q4 were much higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.01 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 41.6%, 750 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 21.3%, 890 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.3%, 690 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $520.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.05.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.44 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.58.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 161 members out of 178 rating the stock outperform, and 17 members rating it underperform. Among 63 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 60 give Great Plains Energy a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Great Plains Energy is outperform, with an average price target of $23.00.

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The article Great Plains Energy 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 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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