H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Stock Breaks Below 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of H. B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL) crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.69 and traded as low as $49.86. H. B. Fuller shares last traded at $50.6390, with a volume of 284,431 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on FUL. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of H. B. Fuller from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Zacks Research lowered shares of H. B. Fuller from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings cut H. B. Fuller from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Deutsche Bank cut their price objective on H. B. Fuller from $72.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on H. B. Fuller from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.88.

H. B. Fuller Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $50.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $938.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $945.59 million. H. B. Fuller had a net margin of 5.56% and a return on equity of 12.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that H. B. Fuller Company will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H. B. Fuller Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.2450 per share. This represents a $0.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 15th. H. B. Fuller’s payout ratio is currently 27.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Muhammad Malik purchased 479 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.23 per share, with a total value of $25,018.17. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president owned 14,176 shares in the company, valued at $740,412.48. This trade represents a 3.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles Lauber acquired 2,005 shares of H. B. Fuller stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $49.87 per share, for a total transaction of $99,989.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,363.72. This represents a 148.41% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 13,061 shares of company stock valued at $646,340. Insiders own 1.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of H. B. Fuller

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in H. B. Fuller by 38.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 917 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in H. B. Fuller by 1.2% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,381 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,256,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in H. B. Fuller by 85.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in H. B. Fuller by 4.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,874 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in H. B. Fuller in the second quarter valued at $86,000. 95.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About H. B. Fuller

H.B. Fuller Company is a global specialty chemicals company focused on developing and manufacturing adhesives, sealants and other specialty products. Its solutions are used in applications including packaging, disposable hygiene products, construction, electronics, transportation and consumer goods. The company serves customers across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific, supplying products for both industrial and consumer-facing applications. Founded in 1887 in St. Paul, Minnesota, H.B. Fuller has grown from a regional business into an international manufacturer.