Before the opening bell on Tuesday, CVS Health (CVS ) posted higher results for the fourth quarter, which beat analysts’ expectations.
CVS's Earnings in Brief
- CVS posted net income of $1.32 billion, or $1.15 per share, up from $1.27 billion, or $1.06 per share, last year. Excluding special items, earnings were $1.21 per share – above analysts’ view of $1.20 per share.
- Revenue rose 12.9% to $37.06 billion from $32.83 billion last year. Analysts expected to see revenue of $36.08 billion.
- Looking forward, the company expects to see adjusted EPS between $1.06 and $1.09 per share, while analysts expect to see EPS of $1.09.
- For FY2015, earnings are expected to be between $5.05 and $5.19 per share. Analysts expect to see earnings of $5.15 per share.
CEO Commentary
President and CEO Larry Merlo commented: “By any measure, 2014 was a great year for our company. We delivered strong financial performance, with solid year-over-year growth in revenues, operating profit, earnings per share and cash flow. Our performance in the fourth quarter was no exception, with Adjusted EPS increasing 8.4%, coming in at the high end of our expectations. At the same time, we generated free cash flow for the full-year of $6.5 billion, exceeding our expectations.”
CVS's Dividend
CVS paid its last 35 cent dividend on February 2. We expect the company to declare its next dividend in March.
Stock Performance
Shares of CVS were up $1.79, or 1.80%, during premarket trading Tuesday. YTD, the stock is up 3.37%.
The Bottom Line
CVS Health (CVS ) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.
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