Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE: NWN) reported earnings on Tuesday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Northwest Natural Gas logged revenue of $119.9 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted sales of $114.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 1.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $268.1 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 $1.09. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $1.06 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.09 for Q4 were 1.8% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.11 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 25.9%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 22.1%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 10.8%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $138.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.55.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $381.2 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.62.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 131 members rating the stock outperform and six members rating it underperform. Among 42 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 40 give Northwest Natural 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 Northwest Natural Gas is outperform, with an average price target of $47.14.

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