H.J. Heinz (NYSE: HNZ) reported earnings on Feb. 17. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Jan. 25 (Q3), H.J. Heinz met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
H.J. Heinz booked revenue of $2.92 billion. The 13 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for sales of $2.89 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 7.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.72 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.95. The 16 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.85 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.88 for Q3 were 4.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.84 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 36.4%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 15.6%, 50 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.8%, 30 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $3.08 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.79.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $11.67 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.33.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 812 members out of 862 rating the stock outperform, and 50 members rating it underperform. Among 286 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 277 give H.J. Heinz 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 H.J. Heinz is outperform, with an average price target of $55.75.

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