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

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) saw a significant growth in short interest in 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 short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

H.B. Fuller Stock Up 0.9 %

H.B. Fuller stock traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 70,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 298,949. 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 has a 52-week low of $64.64 and a 52-week high of $87.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $81.80 and its 200 day moving average is $79.46. The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.42.

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

H.B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 a boost from H.B. Fuller’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. H.B. Fuller’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at H.B. Fuller

In other news, VP Heather Campe sold 23,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,631,873.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H.B. Fuller

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FUL. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its stake in H.B. Fuller by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 11,353 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in H.B. Fuller in the first quarter worth approximately $79,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,694 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak bought a new position in H.B. Fuller during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,077 shares during the last quarter. 95.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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. It operates through three segments: Hygiene, Health and Consumable Adhesives; Engineering Adhesives; and Construction Adhesives.