What to Expect from Red Hat

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Red Hat (NYS: RHT) is expected to report Q4 earnings on March 27. 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 Red Hat's revenues will expand 17.7% and EPS will increase 3.4%.

The average estimate for revenue is $349.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.30.


Revenue details
 Last quarter, Red Hat logged revenue of $343.6 million. GAAP reported sales were 18% higher than the prior-year quarter's $290.0 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 $0.29. GAAP EPS of $0.18 for Q3 were 5.3% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.19 per share.

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 84.5%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 14.6%, 400 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 10.1%, 310 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $1.34 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.16.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 624 members out of 763 rating the stock outperform, and 139 members rating it underperform. Among 190 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 162 give Red Hat a green thumbs-up, and 28 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Red Hat is outperform, with an average price target of $60.90.

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The article What to Expect from Red Hat 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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