H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Short Interest Update

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, an increase of 9.1% from the November 30th total of 1,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 301,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in H.B. Fuller by 79.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 730,058 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $57,952,000 after acquiring an additional 324,056 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in H.B. Fuller by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 290,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $22,319,000 after acquiring an additional 26,239 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in H.B. Fuller by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,752 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $99,939,000 after purchasing an additional 18,734 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of H.B. Fuller by 1.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 525,731 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,460,000 after buying an additional 7,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in H.B. Fuller by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 71,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,491,000 after acquiring an additional 5,356 shares in the last quarter. 95.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on FUL shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on H.B. Fuller from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com downgraded H.B. Fuller from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.75.

H.B. Fuller Price Performance

Shares of H.B. Fuller stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 232,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,160. H.B. Fuller has a one year low of $66.46 and a one year high of $87.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.09.

H.B. Fuller Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 17th were paid a $0.2225 dividend. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 17th. H.B. Fuller’s payout ratio is presently 27.47%.

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.