Are You Expecting This from Gentiva Health Services?

Gentiva Health Services (Nasdaq: GTIV  ) is expected to report Q4 earnings on Feb. 7. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Gentiva Health Services's revenues will contract -3.4% and EPS will wane -8.1%.

The average estimate for revenue is $433.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.34.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Gentiva Health Services notched revenue of $424.4 million. GAAP reported sales were 5.6% lower than the prior-year quarter's $449.7 million.

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

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.32. GAAP EPS were -$0.02 for Q3 versus -$15.62 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 47.3%, 130 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.3%, 170 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -0.1%, 10,520 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $1.72 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.28.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 271 members out of 286 rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 89 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 85 give Gentiva Health Services a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Gentiva Health Services is hold, with an average price target of $12.75.

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