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 electrical products and services specialist AZZ (AZZ -0.77%) sank 10% today after its quarterly results and outlook missed Wall Street expectations.
So what: The stock has been a roller coaster in 2013 due to lumpy electrical equipment demand, and today's Q2 results -- earnings grew just 3% -- coupled with downbeat Q3 guidance, only reinforces that lack of consistency. While revenue jumped 24%, operating margins at its main electrical products and services segment sank 370 basis points to 10.3%, giving analysts some concern over AZZ's ability to grow profitably.
Now what: Management now sees current-quarter EPS of $0.65-$0.75 on revenue of $210 million-$230 million in revenue, well below the consensus of $0.95 and $248 million. "Our businesses are well positioned to capture a meaningful share of [infrastructure spending] which we expect to occur in fiscal 2015," CEO David Dingus reassured investors. "We remain very bullish on our opportunities and look forward to seeing those come to fruition in fiscal 2015 and beyond." With the stock now off about 20% and trading at a forward P/E of 11, contrarian Fools might want to consider betting on that bullishness.
