Stonemor Partners Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines (STON)

Stonemor Partners Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Stonemor Partners (NYSE: STON ) reported earnings on May 9. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Stonemor Partners beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew significantly and GAAP earnings per share grew. The profit was a surprise, as analysts had predicted a loss.

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
Stonemor Partners logged revenue of $59.6 million. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $55.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 21% higher than the prior-year quarter's $49.2 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 $0.10. The two earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.14 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.10 for Q1 against -$0.40 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 59.7%, 200 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.6%, 460 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.4%, 1,810 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $62.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.06.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $240.4 million. The average EPS estimate is -$0.32.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 342 members out of 361 rating the stock outperform, and 19 members rating it underperform. Among 100 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 96 give Stonemor Partners 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 Stonemor Partners is outperform, with an average price target of $30.33.

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Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Stonemor Partners. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Stonemor Partners. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

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Report this Comment On May 10, 2012, at 6:20 PM, breastdoc wrote:

Analyists just do not understand the business model & the pre payment aspect of their business & that is why they consistantly undervalue the company