National Fuel Gas Whiffs on Revenues

National Fuel Gas (NYSE: NFG  ) reported earnings on Feb. 2. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q1), National Fuel Gas whiffed on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank, and GAAP earnings per share improved.

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
National Fuel Gas tallied revenue of $432.4 million. The one analyst polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated net sales of $502.9 million. Sales were 4.1% lower than the prior-year quarter's $450.9 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.73. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.81 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.73 for Q1 were 4.3% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.70 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 46.3%, 410 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 27.4%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.0%, 100 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $708.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.99.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.08 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.80.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 196 members rating the stock outperform, and 12 members rating it underperform. Among 68 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 66 give National Fuel Gas a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on National Fuel Gas is outperform, with an average price target of $71.36.

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