Greif Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know

Matt Koppenheffer, The Motley Fool
Updated

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 packaging expert Greif (NYS: GEF) were getting grief from investors today as shares fell as much as 15% in intraday trading after the company reported fiscal third-quarter results.

So what: The path to an investor's heart during earnings season is through a better than expected bottom line. It would appear that Greif didn't quite make it during the past quarter.

The company's total sales were up 22% from last year and actually topped analysts' estimates. Profitability, however, fell sadly short and the adjusted profit per share of $1.18 was well below the $1.33 that analysts were looking for. The company's gross profit margin hampered the bottom line as demand, product mix, and product cost increases hurt profitability.

Now what: The bad news didn't stop with the third quarter, though. The company also noted that demand has continued to be at a lower level than last year and as a result management "adjusted" -- ahem, lowered -- its full-year profit outlook. Previously, the company thought it would make between $4.50 and $4.75 per share, but now only expects to rake in between $4.15 and $4.30.

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