Forest Oil (NYSE: FST) reported earnings on April 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Forest Oil whiffed on revenue and missed estimates on earnings per share.

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

Gross margin dropped, operating margin increased, and net margin dropped.

Revenue details
Forest Oil chalked up revenue of $158.9 million. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw a top line of $190.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 22% lower than the prior-year quarter's $202.6 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 $0.11. The 17 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.20 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.29 for Q1 compared to -$0.03 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 73.1%, 160 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 18.0%, 590 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -20.6%, 1,900 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $194.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.20.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $793.5 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.89.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 333 members out of 349 rating the stock outperform, and 16 members rating it underperform. Among 81 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 77 give Forest Oil a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Forest Oil is outperform, with an average price target of $17.71.

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