H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $810.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $823.04 million. H.B. Fuller had a return on equity of 12.97% and a net margin of 4.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. H.B. Fuller updated its FY24 guidance to $4.15-4.45 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 4.150-4.450 EPS.

H.B. Fuller Price Performance

H.B. Fuller stock opened at $79.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.89. H.B. Fuller has a 52 week low of $62.57 and a 52 week high of $84.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.32 and a 200-day moving average of $75.33.

H.B. Fuller Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. H.B. Fuller’s payout ratio is presently 29.82%.

Insider Activity at H.B. Fuller

In other news, VP Muhammad Shahbaz Malik sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total value of $1,067,920.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $693,308.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Heather Campe sold 3,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.83, for a total transaction of $265,063.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,316.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Muhammad Shahbaz Malik sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $1,067,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $693,308.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,693 shares of company stock valued at $2,353,357 over the last ninety days. 1.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H.B. Fuller

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FUL. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 4.9% in the second quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 66,538 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,006,000 after buying an additional 3,081 shares during the period. Luminus Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller in the 1st quarter valued at $3,396,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of H.B. Fuller by 150.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 34,336 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,455,000 after buying an additional 20,608 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC lifted its holdings in H.B. Fuller by 47.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 34,983 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,395,000 after buying an additional 11,251 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in H.B. Fuller by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 27,833 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,839,000 after acquiring an additional 9,960 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on FUL. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of H.B. Fuller in a report on Friday, January 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of H.B. Fuller from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of H.B. Fuller from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Vertical Research initiated coverage on H.B. Fuller in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.20.

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 in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, India, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally.