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 label and sign maker Avery Dennison (AVY -1.16%) spiked as much as 13% higher today before settling to an 8% gain at the end of trading.
So what: The driver of the stock today was the company's earnings report, which beat Wall Street's expectations. Revenue rose 3%, to $1.5 billion, and net income fell 37%, to $37 million, or $0.37 per share. But after adjusting for one-time items, earnings from continuing operations were $0.69 per share, $0.05 ahead of estimates.
Now what: To put icing on the cake, management raised the bottom of its full-year earnings guidance, now expecting $2.60-$2.70 per share in earnings. The company recently sold off the office and consumer side of the business in an effort to focus on higher-value business applications. What's left is a slow-growing but stable company. I don't think the stock is a great value given the low growth rate, but if shares pull back, the 2.6% dividend yield may become attractive.
