Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL) reported earnings on Feb. 27. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased significantly. Non-GAAP earnings per share dropped significantly. GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.

Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
 Whiting Petroleum logged revenue of $577.1 million. The 21 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $536.8 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 17% higher than the prior-year quarter's $492.0 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 $0.83. The 32 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.74 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.83 for Q4 were 21% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.05 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.69 for Q4 were 30% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.53 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 75.6%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 26.0%, 450 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.2%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $566.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.85.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.43 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.80.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 687 members out of 708 rating the stock outperform, and 21 members rating it underperform. Among 106 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 103 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 $60.00.

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