Shares of Clarcor Inc. plunged Wednesday after the maker of automobile filtration parts posted a second-quarter profit that one analyst called "uninspiring."
Clarcor shares lost $4.32, or 9.9 percent, to $39.41 in midday trading. The stock has ranged from $32.90 to $44.25 over the past year.
After the close of trading Tuesday, Clarcor said its second-quarter profit rose 18 percent to $24.6 million, or 48 cents per share. The results beat Wall Street estimates by a penny per share, according to a poll of analysts by Thomson Financial.
In a client, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Jeffrey Hammond said investors would likely look past the better-than-expected earnings to internal problems within the company.
While revenue rose significantly, organic growth _ or growth from the company's internal business operations _ actually fell 1.7 percent year over year, according to Hammond's estimate.
In addition, the company's domestic engine/mobile filtration business was weak, while its packaging segment posted reduced sales, the analyst said.
Hammond also said Clarcor shares have reached a fair price after a run-up in recent months.
He predicted shares would head lower following the results and could trade between $38 and $40. He cut his full-year forecast by a penny per share to $1.92 and maintained his "Hold" rating.
Also on Tuesday, Clarcor narrowed its full-year profit estimate to between $1.90 and $2 per share. Previously, the company guided for earnings between $1.85 and $2.05 per share.
The Franklin, Tenn.-based company also predicted a 19 percent increase in revenue, implying 2008 revenue of $1.1 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect a profit of $1.92 per share on $1.08 billion in revenue.
Shares of Clarcor have risen by nearly a third from a 52-week low of $30.75 set in October.
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