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

H. B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.08. H. B. Fuller had a return on equity of 11.59% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $898.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $894.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

H. B. Fuller Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FUL shares. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded H. B. Fuller from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on H. B. Fuller from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Baird R W raised shares of H. B. Fuller from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of H. B. Fuller from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, H. B. Fuller has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at H. B. Fuller

In other news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin acquired 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $56.66 per share, for a total transaction of $198,310.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,310. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H. B. Fuller

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new stake in H. B. Fuller during the first quarter valued at $36,830,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in H. B. Fuller by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 554,947 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,448,000 after purchasing an additional 81,558 shares during the last quarter. Partners Capital Investment Group LLP raised its stake in shares of H. B. Fuller by 90.3% during the 1st quarter. Partners Capital Investment Group LLP now owns 64,901 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,642,000 after purchasing an additional 30,805 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of H. B. Fuller by 612.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 28,083 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,576,000 after buying an additional 24,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of H. B. Fuller by 191.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 28,553 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,804,000 after buying an additional 18,771 shares during the last quarter. 95.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H. B. Fuller Trading Up 10.7%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.31 and a 200 day moving average of $58.48. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.97.

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.