H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

H. B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $55.96, but opened at $60.58. H. B. Fuller shares last traded at $61.09, with a volume of 179,800 shares changing hands.

The specialty chemicals company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $898.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $894.87 million. H. B. Fuller had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 11.59%. H. B. Fuller’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS.

H. B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. This is an increase from H. B. Fuller’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. H. B. Fuller’s dividend payout ratio is 47.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FUL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded H. B. Fuller from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of H. B. Fuller from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Baird R W upgraded shares of H. B. Fuller from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of H. B. Fuller from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.50.

Insider Activity at H. B. Fuller

In related news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin bought 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.66 per share, with a total value of $198,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,310. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of H. B. Fuller

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of H. B. Fuller by 128.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 899 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in H. B. Fuller by 731.1% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in H. B. Fuller during the first quarter valued at about $101,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in H. B. Fuller in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $266,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its position in shares of H. B. Fuller by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 6,538 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares during the period. 95.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H. B. Fuller Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

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.