Why A. Schulman Shares Dropped

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 A. Schulman (NAS: SHLM) dropped 15% today after the company released earnings.

So what: Sales fell 2.4% in the fiscal second quarter to $495.9 million and volumes fell 7.8%. Earnings were $9.1 million, or $0.31 per share, $0.08 higher than a year ago, but analysts had expected $0.44 per share.

Now what: Management blamed weakness in Europe for most of the earnings miss. Still, conditions did improve over last year on both the top and bottom lines in a traditionally weak quarter. Shares trade at just 9.4 times forward earnings estimates, so this could be a company worth watching if conditions stabilize in Europe.

Interested in more info on A. Schulman? 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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