H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

H. B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $70.00 and last traded at $62.0540, with a volume of 447 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.25.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on FUL. Citigroup boosted their target price on H. B. Fuller from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $67.00 price target on shares of H. B. Fuller in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $67.00 price objective on shares of H. B. Fuller in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of H. B. Fuller from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $58.00 target price on H. B. Fuller in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, H. B. Fuller presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin bought 5,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $57.08 per share, with a total value of $295,103.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 8,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $494,883.60. This trade represents a 147.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H. B. Fuller

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in H. B. Fuller by 50.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 578 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in H. B. Fuller by 432.9% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 778 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in H. B. Fuller during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in H. B. Fuller during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of H. B. Fuller in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors own 95.93% of the company’s stock.

H. B. Fuller Stock Down 1.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.96.

H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. H. B. Fuller had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 5.29%.The firm had revenue of $950.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that H. B. Fuller Company will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H. B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.245 per share. This is a boost from H. B. Fuller’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. H. B. Fuller’s payout ratio is 32.34%.

H. B. Fuller Company Profile

H. B. Fuller Company, founded in 1887 and headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a global adhesives and specialty chemical solutions provider serving a wide array of industries. The company develops, manufactures and markets adhesive technologies, sealants, polymers and related chemical products designed to enhance product performance, sustainability and manufacturing efficiency.

Fuller’s product portfolio spans multiple market segments, including packaging and converting, general industrial assembly, electronics, transportation, hygiene and construction.