H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) & Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) Critical Survey

H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) and Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.9% of H. B. Fuller shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ingevity shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of H. B. Fuller shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Ingevity shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for H. B. Fuller and Ingevity, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
H. B. Fuller	1	3	3	2	2.67
Ingevity	1	1	1	0	2.00

H. B. Fuller currently has a consensus price target of $66.20, suggesting a potential upside of 13.76%. Ingevity has a consensus price target of $61.50, suggesting a potential upside of 16.23%. Given Ingevity’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ingevity is more favorable than H. B. Fuller.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares H. B. Fuller and Ingevity”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
H. B. Fuller	$3.57 billion	0.88	$130.26 million	$1.85	31.46
Ingevity	$1.41 billion	1.35	-$430.30 million	($1.82)	-29.07

H. B. Fuller has higher revenue and earnings than Ingevity. Ingevity is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than H. B. Fuller, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares H. B. Fuller and Ingevity’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
H. B. Fuller	3.28%	11.49%	4.24%
Ingevity	-5.14%	103.69%	9.17%

Risk and Volatility

H. B. Fuller has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ingevity has a beta of 1.4, meaning that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

H. B. Fuller beats Ingevity on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The Hygiene, Health and Consumable Adhesives segment produces and supplies specialty industrial adhesives, such as thermoplastic, thermoset, reactive, water-based, and solvent-based products for applications in various markets, including packaging, converting, nonwoven and hygiene, and health and beauty. The Engineering Adhesives segment produces and supplies high performance industrial adhesives comprising reactive, light cure, two-part liquids, polyurethane, silicone, film, and fast cure products to the durable assembly, performance wood and textile, transportation, electronics, clean energy, aerospace and defense, appliance, heavy machinery, and insulating glass markets. The Construction Adhesives segment provides products used for tile setting, commercial roofing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and insulation applications, as well as caulks and sealants for the consumer market and professional trade. The company sells its products directly to customers, as well as through distributors and retailers in the Americas, Europe, India, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. H.B. Fuller Company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

About Ingevity

Ingevity Corporation manufactures and sells activated carbon products, derivative specialty chemicals, and engineered polymers in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. It operates through three segments: Performance Materials, Performance Chemicals, and Advanced Polymer Technologies. The Performance Materials segment engineers, manufactures, and sells hardwood-based and chemically activated carbon products for use in gasoline vapor emission control systems in cars, motorcycles, trucks, and boats. This segment also produces other activated carbon products for food, water, beverage, and chemical purification applications. The Performance Chemicals segment consists of road technologies and industrial specialties. This segment's products are used in pavement construction, pavement preservation, pavement reconstruction and recycling, road markings, agrochemical dispersants, paper chemicals, and other industrial uses. The Advanced Polymer Technologies segment produces caprolactone and caprolactone-based specialty polymers for use in coatings, resins, elastomers, adhesives, bioplastics, and medical devices. It serves automotive parts and components manufacturers through sales representatives and distributors. The company was formerly known as WestRock Company, Specialty Chemicals Business and changed its name to Ingevity Corporation in September 2015. Ingevity Corporation was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina.