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

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. H.B. Fuller had a return on equity of 12.97% and a net margin of 4.39%. The business had revenue of $810.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $823.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. H.B. Fuller’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Stock Performance

Shares of H.B. Fuller stock traded down $2.84 on Friday, hitting $79.74. The stock had a trading volume of 757,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,586. H.B. Fuller has a twelve month low of $62.57 and a twelve month high of $84.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.52.

H.B. Fuller Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Heather Campe sold 13,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total value of $1,020,373.15. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,572,282.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other H.B. Fuller news, VP Heather Campe sold 13,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total transaction of $1,020,373.15. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,282.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Muhammad Shahbaz Malik sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total value of $1,067,920.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $693,308.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,693 shares of company stock valued at $2,353,357. 1.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H.B. Fuller

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,839,000 after acquiring an additional 9,960 shares in the last quarter. Luminus Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller during the 1st quarter valued at $3,396,000. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of H.B. Fuller by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 66,538 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,006,000 after acquiring an additional 3,081 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller during the 3rd quarter valued at $701,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FUL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on H.B. Fuller from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. 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. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of H.B. Fuller in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised H.B. Fuller from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.