Cimarex Energy Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines (XEC)

Cimarex Energy Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Cimarex Energy (NYSE: XEC ) reported earnings on Feb. 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Cimarex Energy beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded slightly. Non-GAAP earnings per share shrank. GAAP earnings per share dropped significantly.

Gross margins were steady, operating margins dropped, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
Cimarex Energy tallied revenue of $440.9 million. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted net sales of $424.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

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 $1.21. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $1.03 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $1.21 for Q4 were 14% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.40 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.14 for Q4 were 16% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.36 per share.

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 79.9%, about the same as the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 36.4%, 670 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 22.5%, 470 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $437.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.09.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.87 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.87.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 519 members out of 541 rating the stock outperform, and 22 members rating it underperform. Among 117 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 112 give Cimarex Energy a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Cimarex Energy is outperform, with an average price target of $77.00.

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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 Cimarex Energy. 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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