Legg Mason
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 20 (Q4), Legg Mason met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.
Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped and GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.
Gross margins shrank, operating margins dropped, and net margins expanded.
Revenue details
Legg Mason booked revenue of $648.6 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $645.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 9.1% lower than the prior-year quarter's $713.4 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 $0.54. The 16 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.47 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.54 for Q4 were 20% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.45 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 29.4%, 420 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 11.5%, 420 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 11.7%, 200 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.
Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $654.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.48.
Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.68 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.05.
Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 833 members rating the stock outperform and 72 members rating it underperform. Among 333 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 313 give Legg Mason a green thumbs-up, and 20 give it a red thumbs-down.
Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Legg Mason is hold, with an average price target of $29.38.
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