Church & Dwight Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Church & Dwight (NYSE: CHD  ) reported earnings Feb. 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

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

Gross margins dropped, operating margins improved, net margins expanded.

Revenue details
Church & Dwight reported revenue of $701.0 million. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see a top line of $691.4 million. Sales were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $656.9 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.54. The 16 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.53 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.44 for Q3 were 33% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.33 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 43.3%, 170 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 16.1%, 340 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 8.7%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $694.0 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.51.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.71 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.19.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 353 members rating the stock outperform and 16 members rating it underperform. Among 138 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 135 give Church & Dwight 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 Church & Dwight is hold, with an average price target of $45.77.

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