Kennedy Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in H. B. Fuller Company $FUL

Key Points

• Kennedy Capital Management increased its H. B. Fuller stake by 43.4% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 190,750 shares and bringing its total to 630,194 shares worth about $37.5 million.
• Several other hedge funds also adjusted positions in FUL, and institutional investors now own 95.93% of the stock, showing strong institutional interest.
• H. B. Fuller recently posted EPS of $0.57, slightly beating estimates, and it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.245 per share; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $63.80.

Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in H. B. Fuller Company (NYSE:FUL - Free Report) by 43.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 630,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 190,750 shares during the quarter. H. B. Fuller makes up about 0.8% of Kennedy Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 1.16% of H. B. Fuller worth $37,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FUL. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of H. B. Fuller by 50.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 578 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of H. B. Fuller by 432.9% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 778 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of H. B. Fuller during the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of H. B. Fuller during the third quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of H. B. Fuller during the third quarter valued at $58,000. 95.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FUL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $58.00 price target on H. B. Fuller in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised H. B. Fuller from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised H. B. Fuller from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Vertical Research raised H. B. Fuller from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group set a $58.00 price target on H. B. Fuller in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.80.

H. B. Fuller Price Performance

NYSE:FUL opened at $63.64 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $61.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.96. H. B. Fuller Company has a 52-week low of $48.71 and a 52-week high of $68.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.01. H. B. Fuller had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.62%.The firm had revenue of $770.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $787.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. H. B. Fuller's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that H. B. Fuller Company will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H. B. Fuller Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.245 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $0.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change from H. B. Fuller's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. H. B. Fuller's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin purchased 5,170 shares of H. B. Fuller stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $57.08 per share, for a total transaction of $295,103.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 8,670 shares in the company, valued at $494,883.60. This represents a 147.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

H. B. Fuller 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.

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