Pioneer Drilling Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Pioneer Drilling (AMEX: PDC  ) reported earnings on Feb. 21. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
Pioneer Drilling recorded revenue of $187.7 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $185.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 37% higher than the prior-year quarter's $148.6 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 $0.11. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.10 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.11 for Q3 against -$0.11 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 36.9%, 40 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 10.0%, 540 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.3%, 730 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $195.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.12.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $704.5 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.33.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 602 members rating the stock outperform and 27 members rating it underperform. Among 145 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 138 give Pioneer Drilling 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 Pioneer Drilling is outperform, with an average price target of $13.22.

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