Why Xylem Shares Jumped

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 water solutions company Xylem fell 11% today after the company released earnings.

So what: Fourth-quarter revenue rose 6.6% to $1.03 billion and adjusted net income was up 19% to $103 million, or $0.56 per share. Analysts only expected $990 million in revenue and $0.52 per share in earnings for the quarter.

Now what: Management also said 2014 revenue will rise 2%-4% to about $4 billion and earnings per share will be between $1.85 and $2, which is in line with estimates. But management also said that if order flow continues and cost controls remain strong the company has big upside. I'm not terribly excited about the stock at 18 times next year's earnings, given the slow top-line growth rate, but if growth picks up the investment thesis could change.

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The article Why Xylem Shares Jumped originally appeared on Fool.com.

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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