Bemis Shares Dropped: What You Need to Know

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 maker Bemis (NYS: BMS) fell 12% today after the company announced terrible earnings and plant closures.

So what: Sales in the third quarter gained 5% to $1.36 billion, but earnings per share fell 9% to $0.53, $0.02 below estimates. What really made investors run for the exits was the fourth-quarter earnings forecast of $0.36 to $0.42 per share, well below estimates of $0.54.

Now what: There really isn't a great way to spin the news today after the forecast came in well below estimates. Management announced that they would be laying off workers and closing plants, so this doesn't look like a one-time hit that the company can easily recover from. I'm a seller today and would move on to a company whose fortunes are improving.

Interested in more info on Bemis? Add it to your watchlist byclicking here.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Travis Hoium does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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