H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on H.B. Fuller from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $92.75.

H.B. Fuller Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of FUL opened at $83.81 on Tuesday. H.B. Fuller has a one year low of $64.64 and a one year high of $86.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.89. The company has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.44.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. H.B. Fuller had a return on equity of 13.33% and a net margin of 4.67%. The company had revenue of $917.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $914.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that H.B. Fuller will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.2225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from H.B. Fuller’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. H.B. Fuller’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Heather Campe sold 23,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,631,873.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Heather Campe sold 23,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Zhiwei Cai sold 4,645 shares of H.B. Fuller stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.15, for a total transaction of $349,071.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 30,663 shares in the company, valued at $2,304,324.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H.B. Fuller

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller during the first quarter valued at about $79,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller in the 4th quarter worth approximately $134,000. Security National Bank of SO Dak bought a new position in shares of H.B. Fuller in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of H.B. Fuller during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $738,000. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller in the 1st quarter worth $773,000. 95.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.