H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Short Interest Up 20.3% in August

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 930,100 shares, a growth of 20.3% from the August 15th total of 772,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 323,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Heather Campe sold 23,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.66, for a total transaction of $1,958,711.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,631,873.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in H.B. Fuller by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 11,353 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller during the 1st quarter worth approximately $79,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of H.B. Fuller by 3.1% during the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 88,348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,799,000 after purchasing an additional 2,694 shares during the period. Security National Bank of SO Dak bought a new stake in shares of H.B. Fuller during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 9.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 45,152 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,600,000 after purchasing an additional 4,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of H.B. Fuller from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th.

H.B. Fuller Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FUL traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $81.76. 70,751 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 298,949. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.46. H.B. Fuller has a 1-year low of $64.64 and a 1-year high of $87.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $917.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.22 million. H.B. Fuller had a return on equity of 13.33% and a net margin of 4.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that H.B. Fuller will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.2225 per share. This is an increase from H.B. Fuller’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. H.B. Fuller’s payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

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.