StockNews.com Lowers H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) to Hold

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

H.B. Fuller Stock Down 3.0 %

H.B. Fuller stock opened at $81.40 on Wednesday. H.B. Fuller has a 52 week low of $64.64 and a 52 week high of $87.67. The stock has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $917.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.22 million. H.B. Fuller had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that H.B. Fuller will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.2225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from H.B. Fuller’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. H.B. Fuller’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Heather Campe sold 23,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.66, for a total value of $1,958,711.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,631,873.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H.B. Fuller

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FUL. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in H.B. Fuller by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 525,731 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,460,000 after purchasing an additional 7,292 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in shares of H.B. Fuller by 2,588.7% in 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. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of H.B. Fuller by 9.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 290,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $22,319,000 after acquiring an additional 26,239 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of H.B. Fuller by 3.1% in the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 88,348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,799,000 after acquiring an additional 2,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in shares of H.B. Fuller by 8.1% during the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 71,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,491,000 after acquiring an additional 5,356 shares during the period. 95.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.