Penn West Petroleum (NYSE: PWE) is expected to report Q4 earnings on Feb. 14. 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 Penn West Petroleum's revenues will increase 35.1% and EPS will remain in the red.

The average estimate for revenue is $726.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.02.

Revenue details
 Last quarter, Penn West Petroleum reported revenue of $796.9 million. GAAP reported sales were 4.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $678.7 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, EPS came in at -$0.14. GAAP EPS were -$0.14 for Q3 versus $0.28 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 60.3%, 180 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -17.6%, 7,360 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -10.4%, 3,000 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $3.19 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.31.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,352 members out of 1,399 rating the stock outperform, and 47 members rating it underperform. Among 283 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 276 give Penn West Petroleum a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Penn West Petroleum is hold, with an average price target of $22.03.

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