Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of EPL Oil & Gas (NYSE: EPL) fell 10% in trading today after the company released third-quarter earnings.
So what: Non-GAAP net income was up 149% over the past year, to $31.4 million, or $0.81 per share, but fell short of Wall Street's $0.88 estimate. Production was up 113% from a year ago, to 23,097 Bbls of oil equivalent per day; but this still wasn't enough to satisfy investors.
Now what: When a company is growing this quickly, it can be hard for analysts and investors to guess exactly what earnings will be quarter to quarter. That's why I'm not too worried about the miss, considering the fact that earnings are way up from a year ago. I think this is a buying opportunity because shares trade at just 7.7 times next year's estimates, a great entry point for investors.
