H. B. Fuller (FUL) Competitors

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) and H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, community ranking, valuation, dividends and risk.

Which has more risk and volatility, ALB or FUL?

Albemarle has a beta of 1.61, suggesting that its share price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, H. B. Fuller has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer ALB or FUL?

In the previous week, Albemarle had 6 more articles in the media than H. B. Fuller. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Albemarle and 4 mentions for H. B. Fuller. Albemarle's average media sentiment score of 0.86 beat H. B. Fuller's score of 0.27 indicating that Albemarle is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Albemarle	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
H. B. Fuller	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is ALB or FUL more profitable?

H. B. Fuller has a net margin of 3.17% compared to Albemarle's net margin of -22.39%. H. B. Fuller's return on equity of 11.57% beat Albemarle's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Albemarle	-22.39%	-1.92%	-0.92%
H. B. Fuller	3.17%	11.57%	4.23%

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of ALB or FUL?

92.9% of Albemarle shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.9% of H. B. Fuller shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Albemarle shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of H. B. Fuller shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, ALB or FUL?

H. B. Fuller has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Albemarle. Albemarle is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than H. B. Fuller, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Albemarle	$5.38B	1.27	-$1.18B	-$11.12	-5.21
H. B. Fuller	$3.57B	0.85	$130.26M	$2.00	28.08

Is ALB or FUL a better dividend stock?

Albemarle pays an annual dividend of $1.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. H. B. Fuller pays an annual dividend of $0.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Albemarle pays out -14.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. H. B. Fuller pays out 47.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Albemarle has raised its dividend for 30 consecutive years and H. B. Fuller has raised its dividend for 57 consecutive years. Albemarle is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts recommend ALB or FUL?

Albemarle presently has a consensus price target of $91.62, suggesting a potential upside of 58.24%. H. B. Fuller has a consensus price target of $62.50, suggesting a potential upside of 11.29%. Given Albemarle's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Albemarle is more favorable than H. B. Fuller.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Albemarle	2 Sell rating(s)	14 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.14
H. B. Fuller	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer ALB or FUL?

Albemarle received 460 more outperform votes than H. B. Fuller when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.78% of users gave Albemarle an outperform vote while only 55.48% of users gave H. B. Fuller an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Albemarle	Outperform Votes 779 61.78%	Underperform Votes 482 38.22%
H. B. Fuller	Outperform Votes 319 55.48%	Underperform Votes 256 44.52%

Summary

Albemarle and H. B. Fuller tied by winning 11 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.