NewMarket 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 NewMarket (NYS: NEU) dropped 10% today after the company released disappointing earnings results.

So what: The company said that revenue increased in the fourth quarter to $505.6 million, from $460.6 million a year ago. But profitability suffered, falling to $2.51 in earnings per share from $3.47 a year ago. Analysts had expected earnings of $3.42 per share.

Now what: The move today isn't a big surprise considering the wide earnings miss. Operating costs rose significantly in the quarter, resulting in lower operating profit and the earnings miss. Still, for the full year, earnings per share rose to $14.13 from $12.52 a year ago, so the company had a down quarter compared to the rest of the year. Keep an eye on what happens in the first quarter of 2012 to see if this is an aberration or a trend in results.

Interested in more info on NewMarket? 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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