Northern Oil and Gas Beats on EPS But GAAP Results Lag

Northern Oil and Gas (AMEX: NOG) reported earnings on Nov. 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Northern Oil and Gas whiffed on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

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

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
Northern Oil and Gas booked revenue of $60.1 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted sales of $81.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 37% higher than the prior-year quarter's $43.8 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 $0.27. The 12 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.26 per share. GAAP EPS shrank to zero from the prior-year quarter's $0.46.

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 72.0%, 930 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.5%, 9,550 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.5%, 6,490 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $92.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.30.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $313.7 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.02.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 589 members out of 648 rating the stock outperform, and 59 members rating it underperform. Among 108 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 94 give Northern Oil and Gas a green thumbs-up, and 14 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Northern Oil and Gas is buy, with an average price target of $26.40.

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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 has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. 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.

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