Rice Energy’s Earnings Forecast: What to Expect for 1Q16

Rice Energy (RICE) will release its 1Q16 earnings on May 4, 2016. The company’s 1Q16 revenue estimates stand at ~$197.5 million, and its revenue in 1Q15 was ~$109.54 million.

In 4Q15, Rice Energy reported adjusted revenue of ~$136 million. The consensus Wall Street estimate for revenue was ~$158.2 million. Revenues in 4Q15 were ~5.4% higher than the revenues of $129.4 million in 4Q14.

As we can see in the image above, Rice’s revenue expectations for 1Q16 are significantly higher than in the previous four quarters. That said, revenues came in mostly lower than expected in each of these quarters. So investors will watch to see how things pan out for the company in 1Q16.

Rice Energy’s 1Q16 EPS (earnings per share) estimate is -$0.09. RICE’s 4Q15 adjusted EPS was $0.16. The consensus Wall Street estimate for EPS is about -$0.13. In comparison, the company’s EPS for 4Q14 was $0.03.

RICE’s earnings performed better than expected in the previous four quarters. However, as we saw above, analysts are expecting its 1Q16 earnings to fall significantly compared to previous quarters.

By comparison, RICE’s natural-gas weighted peers EQT Corporation (EQT), Antero Resources (AR), and Noble Energy (NBL) are expected to report EPS of -$0.03, $0.18, and -$0.50, respectively, in 1Q16. These companies make up 6.3% of the iShares US Oil and Gas Exploration and Production ETF (IEO).

For fiscal 2015, Rice Energy (RICE) reported adjusted EPS of $0.01. Its EPS in 2014 was -$0.26. RICE’s 2015 revenue came in at ~$502 million, and its revenue in 2014 was ~$391 million.

Now let’s look at RICE’s production guidance.