What: Shares of Ferro Corporation (FOE) fell as much as 18% today after the company reported second-quarter earnings.
So what: Net sales dropped 8.8% in the quarter to $268.2 million and net income fell 34% to $6.6 million, or $0.14 per share, for continued operations. After adjusting for one-time items, the company earned $0.20 per share, but that fell short of the $0.25 estimate Wall Street had set, and that's left investors disappointed today.
Now what: A strong dollar is hurting sales at Ferro, as it is for most American companies right now. But profit margins have increased 2.5% over the past year, so a focus on high-value products is beginning to pay off. I think the sell-off is overdone considering the steady improvement and shares trading at just under 15 times earnings. That's a decent value in today's market.
