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

Shares of H.B. Fuller (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 $54.32, but opened at $57.57. H.B. Fuller shares last traded at $54.82, with a volume of 219,528 shares changing hands.

The specialty chemicals company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $788.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.55 million. H.B. Fuller had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share.

H.B. Fuller Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.2225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. H.B. Fuller’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on FUL. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of H.B. Fuller from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of H.B. Fuller from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Vertical Research downgraded H.B. Fuller from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H.B. Fuller

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in H.B. Fuller by 128.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 899 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of H.B. Fuller by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 33,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,231,000 after buying an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller in the fourth quarter valued at about $266,000. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in shares of H.B. Fuller by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 13,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.93% of the company’s stock.

H.B. Fuller Stock Up 6.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.46 and a 200 day moving average of $68.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

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.