Molina Healthcare Rises Slightly After Q4 Disappointment - Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH)

Molina HealthcareMOH

is up less than one percent in after hours trading after the company reported its fourth quarter results. The company reported a Q4 EPS of $(0.20), which is considerably lower than the Street estimate of $(0.05). Earnings per share were down 137 percent from the year-ago period. Revenue came in at $1.71 billion versus the Street estimate of $1.8 billion. Sales were up eight percent year-over-year. Molina's CEO, J. Mario Molina, M.D.,

referred

to 2013 as a year of both opportunity and challenge. He said that he believes the company has laid the foundation for success in 2014 and beyond by:

Increasing medical margins.
Securing Duals Demonstration contracts in five states.
Expanding its footprint into South Carolina.
Building the "robust" administrative infrastructure that the company will need going forward.

Year-to-date, Molina Healthcare has remained flat, losing a mere 0.06 percent as of market close on Friday, February 7. The stock has risen more than 17 percent over the last 12 months. Disclosure:

At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs