FutureFuel (NYSE:FF) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of FutureFuel (NYSE:FF) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

FutureFuel Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of FF traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $6.37. 70,034 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 454,497. FutureFuel has a 1 year low of $4.15 and a 1 year high of $8.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.93 and its 200-day moving average is $5.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.62.

FutureFuel (NYSE:FF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 9th. The energy company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter. FutureFuel had a return on equity of 15.62% and a net margin of 11.80%. The firm had revenue of $72.41 million during the quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul Manheim bought 6,000 shares of FutureFuel stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.10 per share, for a total transaction of $36,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,528.30. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 40.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FutureFuel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in FutureFuel by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,136 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $7,968,000 after purchasing an additional 671,144 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in FutureFuel by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,391,525 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $11,202,000 after purchasing an additional 45,914 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in FutureFuel by 321.7% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 742,405 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 566,367 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in FutureFuel by 612.4% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 352,525 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 303,038 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in FutureFuel by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 333,753 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,687,000 after purchasing an additional 3,460 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.56% of the company’s stock.

About FutureFuel

FutureFuel Corp., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells diversified chemical, bio-based fuel, and bio-based specialty chemical products in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Chemicals and Biofuels. The Chemicals segment provides various custom chemicals that are used in the coatings, chemical intermediates, industrial and consumer cleaning, oil and gas, and specialty polymers industries; and performance chemicals, such as polymer modifiers, glycerin products, and various specialty chemicals and solvents.