Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL) is expected to report Q3 earnings on Oct. 24. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
 Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Whiting Petroleum's revenues will grow 5.7% and EPS will wane -20.0%.

The average estimate for revenue is $515.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.76.

Revenue details
 Last quarter, Whiting Petroleum reported revenue of $502.2 million. GAAP reported sales were 4.0% higher than the prior-year quarter's $473.9 million.

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

EPS details
 Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.73. GAAP EPS of $1.27 for Q2 were 26% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.71 per share.

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

Recent performance
 For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 73.6%, 360 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 50.6%, 1,910 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 30.6%, 1,230 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $2.13 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.44.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 686 members out of 708 rating the stock outperform, and 22 members rating it underperform. Among 106 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 103 give Whiting Petroleum a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Whiting Petroleum is outperform, with an average price target of $66.84.

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