Forest Oil Beats on EPS But GAAP Results Lag

Forest Oil (NYSE: FST  ) reported earnings on Feb. 20. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Forest Oil whiffed on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue contracted. Non-GAAP earnings per share shrank significantly. GAAP earnings per share contracted to a loss.

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Forest Oil logged revenue of $154.9 million. The 10 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see sales of $173.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 12% lower than the prior-year quarter's $176.6 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 $0.14. The 19 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.10 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.14 for Q4 were 22% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.18 per share. GAAP EPS were -$2.48 for Q4 versus $0.17 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 76.4%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -161.7%, 20,030 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -184.9%, 19,590 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $157.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.05.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $621.4 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.36.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 332 members out of 349 rating the stock outperform, and 17 members rating it underperform. Among 85 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 76 give Forest Oil a green thumbs-up, and nine give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Forest Oil is hold, with an average price target of $9.02.

Is Forest Oil the right energy stock for you? Read about a handful of timely, profit-producing plays on expensive crude in "3 Stocks for $100 Oil." Click here for instant access to this free report.

• Add Forest Oil to My Watchlist.