H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday.

H.B. Fuller Stock Performance

Shares of FUL stock opened at $85.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.31. H.B. Fuller has a 52 week low of $64.64 and a 52 week high of $87.67.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $917.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.22 million. H.B. Fuller had a return on equity of 13.33% and a net margin of 4.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that H.B. Fuller will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.2225 dividend. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a boost from H.B. Fuller’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. H.B. Fuller’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at H.B. Fuller

In other news, VP Heather Campe sold 23,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,631,873.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors 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 grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Partners Capital Investment Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,598,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 2,588.7% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 335,119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,282,000 after buying an additional 322,655 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak acquired a new stake in H.B. Fuller in the fourth quarter valued at $236,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in H.B. Fuller by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 45,152 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,600,000 after acquiring an additional 4,077 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.