H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $54.32, but opened at $57.57. H.B. Fuller shares last traded at $54.82, with a volume of 219,528 shares traded.

The specialty chemicals company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. H.B. Fuller had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 3.65%. The firm had revenue of $788.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

H.B. Fuller Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.2225 per share. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. H.B. Fuller’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on H.B. Fuller from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on H.B. Fuller from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of H.B. Fuller from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of H.B. Fuller from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of H.B. Fuller from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H.B. Fuller

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FUL. Amundi boosted its position in H.B. Fuller by 191.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 28,553 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 18,771 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 79.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 730,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $57,952,000 after purchasing an additional 324,056 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of H.B. Fuller by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 554,947 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,448,000 after buying an additional 81,558 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in H.B. Fuller by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,752 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $99,939,000 after buying an additional 18,734 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 128.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 899 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. 95.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H.B. Fuller Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

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.