H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $56.80 and last traded at $57.14, with a volume of 101779 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FUL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of H.B. Fuller from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of H.B. Fuller from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Vertical Research lowered shares of H.B. Fuller from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on H.B. Fuller from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, H.B. Fuller currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.60.

H.B. Fuller Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $63.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.81.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.08). H.B. Fuller had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 3.65%. The company had revenue of $923.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $916.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that H.B. Fuller will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

H.B. Fuller Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.2225 per share. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. H.B. Fuller’s payout ratio is currently 38.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H.B. Fuller

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FUL. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of H.B. Fuller by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 33,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in H.B. Fuller by 731.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in H.B. Fuller by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 127,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,630,000 after buying an additional 15,100 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller during the 4th quarter worth about $465,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of H.B. Fuller in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $783,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.93% of the company’s stock.

About H.B. Fuller

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.