Sunday, November 25, 2012

Spartan Motors Catches Analysts Sleeping Again

Spartan Motors (Nasdaq: SPAR  ) reported earnings on Feb. 14. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Spartan Motors beat expectations on revenue and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue was unchanged and GAAP earnings per share dropped significantly.

Gross margin shrank, operating margin improved, and net margin dropped.

Revenue details
Spartan Motors recorded revenue of $120.3 million. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for net sales of $106.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 12% lower than the prior-year quarter's $126.9 million.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.10. The three earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.03 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.02 for Q3 were 80% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.10 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 13.1%, 220 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 0.9%, 40 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.6%, 210 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $108.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.04.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $423.5 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.10.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 577 members out of 609 rating the stock outperform, and 32 members rating it underperform. Among 180 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 177 give Spartan Motors 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 Spartan Motors is outperform, with an average price target of $7.50.

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