ONEOK Partners Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

ONEOK Partners (NYSE: OKS  ) reported earnings on Feb. 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
ONEOK Partners booked revenue of $2.92 billion. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see net sales of $2.53 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 7.0% lower than the prior-year quarter's $3.14 billion.

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 $0.66. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.62 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.66 for Q4 were 48% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.26 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 13.7%, 210 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 7.7%, 240 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.2%, 230 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $3.15 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.66.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $12.16 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.71.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 658 members out of 673 rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 242 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 237 give ONEOK Partners a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on ONEOK Partners is hold, with an average price target of $64.31.

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