Berry Petroleum (NYSE: BRY) reported earnings on Feb. 28. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Berry Petroleum met expectations on revenues and whiffed on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew. GAAP earnings per share grew.

Gross margins dropped, operating margins increased, net margins grew.

Revenue details
 Berry Petroleum reported revenue of $260.1 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for net sales of $260.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 8.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $240.6 million.

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

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.69. The 13 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.77 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.69 for Q4 against -$7.59 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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 60.7%, 750 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 25.8%, much better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.8%, much better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $260.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.82.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.07 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.41.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 346 members out of 368 rating the stock outperform, and 22 members rating it underperform. Among 81 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 78 give Berry 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 Berry Petroleum is hold, with an average price target of $42.79.

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