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

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $76.30, but opened at $80.11. H.B. Fuller shares last traded at $78.43, with a volume of 44,817 shares.

The specialty chemicals company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07. H.B. Fuller had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 4.39%. The firm had revenue of $917.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th were given a $0.222 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. This is a boost from H.B. Fuller’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. H.B. Fuller’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on FUL. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of H.B. Fuller from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Vertical Research assumed coverage on H.B. Fuller in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, H.B. Fuller currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Zhiwei Cai sold 4,645 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.15, for a total value of $349,071.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,304,324.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Nathan D. Weaver sold 7,292 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.64, for a total transaction of $573,442.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,707.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Zhiwei Cai sold 4,645 shares of H.B. Fuller stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.15, for a total transaction of $349,071.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,304,324.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,253 shares of company stock valued at $2,669,188. Company insiders own 1.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of H.B. Fuller

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in H.B. Fuller by 2,588.7% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 335,119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,282,000 after purchasing an additional 322,655 shares in the last quarter. Luminus Management LLC increased its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 123.9% in the third quarter. Luminus Management LLC now owns 410,351 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,154,000 after buying an additional 227,055 shares during the last quarter. Partners Capital Investment Group LLP acquired a new stake in H.B. Fuller in the fourth quarter valued at $5,598,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in H.B. Fuller by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 82,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,645,000 after acquiring an additional 13,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new position in H.B. Fuller during the 1st quarter worth $773,000. 95.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H.B. Fuller Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

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.