Stillwater Mining Outruns Estimates Again

Stillwater Mining (NYSE: SWC  ) reported earnings on Feb. 21. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Stillwater Mining logged revenue of $259.7 million. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw a top line of $179.9 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 79% higher than the prior-year quarter's $144.7 million.

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

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.21. The four earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.14 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.21 for Q4 were 31% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.16 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 21.5%, 1,210 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.1%, 410 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.5%, 190 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $194.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.19.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $840.9 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.92.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 620 members rating the stock outperform and 46 members rating it underperform. Among 182 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 174 give Stillwater Mining a green thumbs-up, and eight give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Stillwater Mining is outperform, with an average price target of $17.50.

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