StockNews.com Lowers H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

H.B. Fuller Stock Up 0.8 %

FUL stock opened at $79.39 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.41. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. H.B. Fuller has a twelve month low of $64.64 and a twelve month high of $87.67.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $917.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $914.22 million. H.B. Fuller had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that H.B. Fuller will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.2225 per share. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This is an increase from H.B. Fuller’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. H.B. Fuller’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Heather Campe sold 23,696 shares of H.B. Fuller stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.66, for a total transaction of $1,958,711.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $1,631,873.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H.B. Fuller

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of H.B. Fuller by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 11,353 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Partners Capital Investment Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of H.B. Fuller in the 4th quarter worth $5,598,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller in the 4th quarter worth about $738,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position in shares of H.B. Fuller by 2,588.7% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 335,119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,282,000 after buying an additional 322,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak purchased a new position in H.B. Fuller in the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. 95.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H.B. Fuller Company Profile

H.B. Fuller Company, together with its subsidiaries, formulates, manufactures, and markets adhesives, sealants, coatings, polymers, tapes, encapsulants, additives, and other specialty chemical products. It operates through three segments: Hygiene, Health and Consumable Adhesives; Engineering Adhesives; and Construction Adhesives.