H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.50.

A number of equities analysts have commented on FUL shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded H.B. Fuller from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Baird R W upgraded H.B. Fuller from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on H.B. Fuller from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of H.B. Fuller from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of H.B. Fuller from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

H.B. Fuller Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FUL opened at $54.58 on Friday. H.B. Fuller has a one year low of $47.56 and a one year high of $87.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $54.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.74.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $788.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.55 million. H.B. Fuller had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 12.01%. H.B. Fuller's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that H.B. Fuller will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is a boost from H.B. Fuller's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. H.B. Fuller's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin bought 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $56.66 per share, with a total value of $198,310.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $198,310. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H.B. Fuller

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of H.B. Fuller by 191.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 28,553 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,804,000 after acquiring an additional 18,771 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 79.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted 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 valued at $37,448,000 after purchasing an additional 81,558 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of H.B. Fuller by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 127,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $8,630,000 after buying an additional 15,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in H.B. Fuller during the fourth quarter worth $465,000. 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.

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