UPDATE 2-Bemis Q3 profit falls 19 percent, beats Street

* Q3 EPS 33 cents vs. 43 cents

* Ex. items, EPS 48 cents vs. Street view 39 cents

* Revenue dips 9 percent

* Q4 EPS seen in 40-cent to 45-cent range

* Shares up 6.7 percent (Updates with analyst commentary, industry background, stock movement.)

By Ernest Scheyder

NEW YORK, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Bemis Co (BMS.N) said on Monday its third-quarter profit fell 19 percent due to a drop in sales, but results beat expectations and the company's shares rose 6.7 percent.

The Neenah, Wisconsin-based company makes packaging and labels for a wide range of consumer goods, including groceries.

While the company was somewhat insulated during the recession by its product line consumers still curtailed spending, which dented earnings the past year.

Still, the profit beat was welcome news on Wall Street, where Bemis shares rose $1.72 to $27.47 in morning trading.

Additionally, the recent drop in raw material prices -- including natural gas -- and increased productivity could help "unleash a significant improvement in earnings," Baird analyst Ghansham Panjabi said in a note to clients.

Panjabi advises investors to hold shares of Bemis, and has a $30 price target.

For the quarter, the company posted net income of $35.8 million, or 33 cents per share, compared with $44.3 million, or 43 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding a charge for a pending acquisition and other one-time items, the company posted earnings of 48 cents per share.

By that measure, analysts expected earnings of 39 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S estimates.

Revenue fell 9 percent to $898.9 million. Analysts expected $908.9 million.