Will These Numbers from Ultra Petroleum Be Good Enough for You?

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Ultra Petroleum (NYS: UPL) is expected to report Q1 earnings around May 2. 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 Ultra Petroleum's revenues will shrink -5.3% and EPS will decrease -15.6%.

The average estimate for revenue is $214.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.27.


Revenue details
 Last quarter, Ultra Petroleum reported revenue of $217.2 million. GAAP reported sales were 20% lower than the prior-year quarter's $270.8 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 $0.51. GAAP EPS were -$3.09 for Q4 against $0.86 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 69.6%, 450 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 30.8%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -217.3%, much worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $919.0 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.37.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,524 members out of 1,579 rating the stock outperform, and 55 members rating it underperform. Among 287 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 275 give Ultra Petroleum a green thumbs-up, and 12 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Ultra Petroleum is hold, with an average price target of $25.47.

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The article Will These Numbers from Ultra Petroleum Be Good Enough for You? 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 recommends Ultra Petroleum. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ultra Petroleum and has the following options: Long Jan 2014 $30 Calls on Ultra Petroleum, Long Jan 2014 $40 Calls on Ultra Petroleum, and Long Jan 2014 $50 Calls on Ultra Petroleum. 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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