H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

H.B. Fuller Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FUL opened at $81.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.42. H.B. Fuller has a 1 year low of $64.64 and a 1 year high of $87.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $81.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $917.10 million during 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%. H.B. Fuller’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that H.B. Fuller will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.2225 dividend. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from H.B. Fuller’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. H.B. Fuller’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Heather Campe sold 23,696 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $1,631,873.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in H.B. Fuller during the first quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Security National Bank of SO Dak bought a new position in shares of H.B. Fuller during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in shares of H.B. Fuller in the fourth quarter valued at $738,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in H.B. Fuller by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 11,353 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in H.B. Fuller by 9.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 45,152 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,600,000 after purchasing an additional 4,077 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.93% of the company’s stock.

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.