Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL) is expected to report Q4 earnings around Feb. 23. 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 increase 8.2% and EPS will contract -28.6%.

The average estimate for revenue is $539.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.75.

Revenue details
 Last quarter, Whiting Petroleum tallied revenue of $530.5 million. GAAP reported sales were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $468.6 million.

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

EPS details
 Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.73. GAAP EPS of $0.70 for Q3 were 60% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.74 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%, 250 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 28.6%, 4,230 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 16.0%, 2,800 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 $3.28.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 688 members out of 709 rating the stock outperform, and 21 members rating it underperform. Among 113 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 110 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 $61.32.

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