HOUSTON (AP) _ Callon Petroleum Co. (CPE) on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $23.5 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

The Houston-based company said it had a loss of 9 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 23 cents per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 16 cents per share.

The independent oil and gas company posted revenue of $196.1 million in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $180.5 million.

For the year, the company reported profit of $67.9 million, or 24 cents per share. Revenue was reported as $671.6 million.

In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, the company's shares hit $2.22. A year ago, they were trading at $6.99.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CPE at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CPE

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News