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SCANA (SCG) Misses Q4 Earnings Estimates on Higher Expenses
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Energy holding company SCANA Corp.’s fourth-quarter 2016 earnings of 87 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 93 cents due to higher operating expenses. The bottom line, however, improved from the year-ago comparable quarter figure of 69 cents per share owing to higher electric and gas margins as well as growth in customer base.
The company’s quarterly operating revenues increased to $1,057 million from $956 million in the year-ago period.
Segment Performance
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G): Quarterly earnings from this segment – SCANA's principal subsidiary – were 65 cents per share, up 25% from 52 cents in the year-ago quarter. Higher electric margin, favorable weather conditions as well as growth in customer base led to the improvement.
PSNC Energy: This segment recorded profit of 19 cents per share during the fourth quarter compared with 17 cents reported in the prior-year quarter. The upside was driven by customer growth and improved gas margin.
SCANA Energy-Georgia: The segment – comprising SCANA’s retail natural gas marketing business in Georgia – posted earnings of 5 cents per share. The segment had reported earnings of 2 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2015. This improvement is attributable to increased gas margins.
Corporate and Other, Net: This business segment posted loss of 2 cents per share. The reported figure remained unchanged from the year-ago quarter.
Expenses
During the fourth quarter, the company reported $804 million in operating expenses as against $742 million in the prior-year quarter.
Guidance
SCANA projected 2017 earnings guidance in the range of $4.15–$4.35 per share. The company continues to expect an average annual growth rate in the range of 4–6% over the next three to five years.
Share Price Movement
In the last three months the company’s shares underperformed the Zacks categorized Utility-Electric Power industry. During the aforesaid period, SCANA’s shares lost 3.4% compared with 6.6% gain by the industry.
Other well-ranked stocks in the energy sector include Ultra Petroleum Corp. , Denbury Resources Inc. and W&T Offshore Inc. (WTI - Free Report) . Ultra Petroleum sports a Zacks Rank #1 while both Denbury and W&T Offshore carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Ultra Petroleum is expected to report revenue growth of 57.7% in 2017.
Denbury Resources is likely to report year-over-year growth of almost 15% and 447% on its revenues and earnings in 2017.
W&T Offshore reported a positive earnings surprise in each of the last four quarters with an average beat of 31.49%.
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SCANA (SCG) Misses Q4 Earnings Estimates on Higher Expenses
Energy holding company SCANA Corp.’s fourth-quarter 2016 earnings of 87 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 93 cents due to higher operating expenses. The bottom line, however, improved from the year-ago comparable quarter figure of 69 cents per share owing to higher electric and gas margins as well as growth in customer base.
The company’s quarterly operating revenues increased to $1,057 million from $956 million in the year-ago period.
Segment Performance
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G): Quarterly earnings from this segment – SCANA's principal subsidiary – were 65 cents per share, up 25% from 52 cents in the year-ago quarter. Higher electric margin, favorable weather conditions as well as growth in customer base led to the improvement.
PSNC Energy: This segment recorded profit of 19 cents per share during the fourth quarter compared with 17 cents reported in the prior-year quarter. The upside was driven by customer growth and improved gas margin.
SCANA Energy-Georgia: The segment – comprising SCANA’s retail natural gas marketing business in Georgia – posted earnings of 5 cents per share. The segment had reported earnings of 2 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2015. This improvement is attributable to increased gas margins.
Corporate and Other, Net: This business segment posted loss of 2 cents per share. The reported figure remained unchanged from the year-ago quarter.
Expenses
During the fourth quarter, the company reported $804 million in operating expenses as against $742 million in the prior-year quarter.
Guidance
SCANA projected 2017 earnings guidance in the range of $4.15–$4.35 per share. The company continues to expect an average annual growth rate in the range of 4–6% over the next three to five years.
Share Price Movement
In the last three months the company’s shares underperformed the Zacks categorized Utility-Electric Power industry. During the aforesaid period, SCANA’s shares lost 3.4% compared with 6.6% gain by the industry.
Zacks Rank
Currently, SCANA sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Other well-ranked stocks in the energy sector include Ultra Petroleum Corp. , Denbury Resources Inc. and W&T Offshore Inc. (WTI - Free Report) . Ultra Petroleum sports a Zacks Rank #1 while both Denbury and W&T Offshore carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Ultra Petroleum is expected to report revenue growth of 57.7% in 2017.
Denbury Resources is likely to report year-over-year growth of almost 15% and 447% on its revenues and earnings in 2017.
W&T Offshore reported a positive earnings surprise in each of the last four quarters with an average beat of 31.49%.
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In this latest Special Report, Zacks’ Aggressive Growth Strategist Brian Bolan explores a full-blown technological breakthrough in the making – autonomous cars. He also spotlights 8 stocks with tremendous gain potential to feed off this phenomenon. Click to see the stocks right now >>