Why Titan Machinery's 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 Titan Machinery dropped as much as 12% today after the company updated guidance.

So what: Management reduced its revenue expectation for the fiscal first quarter to $440 million from $490 million. It now expects to lose between $700,000 and $1.2 million as opposed to expecting about a $6 million profit previously. For the full year, the company expects to earn $1.70-$2.00 per share from a previous guidance of $2.00-$2.30 per share.

Now what: The slow start to spring and caution by farmers is being blamed for the worse than expected results. Management thinks conditions in both the agriculture and construction businesses will improve as the year goes on so results should be heavily weighted to the back half of the year. I definitely don't see this as a buy sign today and I'll sit out the discount until we see improvement in sales.

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The article Why Titan Machinery's Shares Dropped originally appeared on Fool.com.

Motley Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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