H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. 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.

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

H.B. Fuller Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.2225 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. H.B. Fuller's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FUL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of H.B. Fuller from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of H.B. Fuller from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on H.B. Fuller from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on H.B. Fuller from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on H.B. Fuller from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.00.

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Institutional Trading of H.B. Fuller

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amundi grew its position 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 valued at $1,804,000 after buying an additional 18,771 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in shares of H.B. Fuller by 79.8% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 730,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $57,952,000 after acquiring an additional 324,056 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in H.B. Fuller by 17.2% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in H.B. Fuller by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,752 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $99,939,000 after purchasing an additional 18,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 128.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 899 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. 95.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H.B. Fuller Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.31 and a 200-day moving average of $68.61. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.81.

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.