WMS Industries Shares Dropped: What You Need to Know (WMS)

WMS Industries Shares Dropped: What You Need to Know

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Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of slot maker WMS Industries (NYSE: WMS ) sank 13% today after its quarterly results and guidance missed Wall Street expectations.

So what: WMS' first-quarter results were so disappointing -- earnings plunged 81% while revenue declined 17% -- that analysts are being forced to significantly cut their price targets on the stock yet again. In fact, the shares are flirting with 52-week lows on the news and are now down an ugly 55% over the past year.

Now what: WMS now expects full-year 2012 revenue to be down slightly from the 2011 level, but also sees an improvement in margins. "We already are realizing tangible benefits from our recent restructuring and realignment actions, which we expect will lead to a resumption of quarterly sequential financial growth in the December 2011 quarter and through the remainder of fiscal 2012," CEO Brian Gamache said. With WMS now trading at a clear forward P/E discount to rivals such as Bally Technologies (NYSE: BYI ) and International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT ) , buying into that optimism might pay off.

Interested in more info on WMS? Add it to your watchlist.

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Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of International Game Technology. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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