H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Short Interest Update

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) saw a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 672,900 shares, a growth of 10.2% from the May 31st total of 610,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 306,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

H.B. Fuller Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:FUL opened at $76.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.42. H.B. Fuller has a 12-month low of $64.64 and a 12-month high of $84.31.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $917.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that H.B. Fuller will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at H.B. Fuller

In other news, EVP James J. East sold 22,316 shares of H.B. Fuller stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.27, for a total transaction of $1,746,673.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Nathan D. Weaver sold 7,292 shares of H.B. Fuller stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.64, for a total transaction of $573,442.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,707.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James J. East sold 22,316 shares of H.B. Fuller stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.27, for a total value of $1,746,673.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,253 shares of company stock worth $2,669,188. Corporate insiders own 1.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of H.B. Fuller

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 2,588.7% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 335,119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,282,000 after buying an additional 322,655 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 19.3% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 82,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,645,000 after buying an additional 13,328 shares during the period. Partners Capital Investment Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,598,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $3,600,000 after buying an additional 4,077 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 11,353 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. 95.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FUL shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on H.B. Fuller from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Vertical Research started coverage on H.B. Fuller in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, H.B. Fuller presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.75.

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.