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 Oil-Dri Corporation of America (ODC 1.55%) fell as much as 10% today and closed down 9% on a disappointing earnings report Friday night.
So what: The maker of diversified products including cat litter and absorbent materials said sales increased 5% to $67.4 million, topping estimates of $64 million, but profits fell because of cost pressures as earnings per share dropped from $0.46 a year ago to $0.10. Earnings estimates were not available for comparison. CEO Daniel Jaffee said "cost pressures, planned advertising, and promotional support" contributed to weaker bottom-line result.
Now what: Oil-Dri has been developing some additional revenue streams including its acquisition of parts of MFM Industries and the opening of its Amlan subsidiary in China, which have, as Jaffee said, "negatively affected earnings this year, but we believe these investments will pay off in the future." I'd tend to agree as Wall Street often punished companies for poor short-term performance when they're investing in the future. Keep an eye an Oil-Dri over the next few quarters to see if profits can reverse their recent trend. If so, I'd expect a strong recovery for Oil-Dri stock.