Analyzing H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) & FUCHS (OTCMKTS:FUPBY)

H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) and FUCHS (OTCMKTS:FUPBY) are both mid-cap materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares H. B. Fuller and FUCHS”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
H. B. Fuller	$3.47 billion	0.78	$151.97 million	$3.59	13.97
FUCHS	$4.03 billion	1.57	$346.21 million	$0.79	15.29

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for H. B. Fuller and FUCHS, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
H. B. Fuller	0	3	4	1	2.75
FUCHS	0	2	2	1	2.80

H. B. Fuller currently has a consensus price target of $62.88, indicating a potential upside of 25.34%. Given H. B. Fuller’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe H. B. Fuller is more favorable than FUCHS.

Dividends

H. B. Fuller pays an annual dividend of $0.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. FUCHS pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. H. B. Fuller pays out 27.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. FUCHS pays out 25.3% 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. H. B. Fuller has increased its dividend for 57 consecutive years. H. B. Fuller is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.9% of H. B. Fuller shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of H. B. Fuller shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares H. B. Fuller and FUCHS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
H. B. Fuller	5.56%	12.65%	4.97%
FUCHS	9.00%	18.03%	12.66%

Volatility and Risk

H. B. Fuller has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FUCHS has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

FUCHS beats H. B. Fuller on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The Hygiene, Health and Consumable Adhesives segment produces and supplies specialty industrial adhesives, such as thermoplastic, thermoset, reactive, water-based, and solvent-based products for applications in various markets, including packaging, converting, nonwoven and hygiene, and health and beauty. The Engineering Adhesives segment produces and supplies high performance industrial adhesives comprising reactive, light cure, two-part liquids, polyurethane, silicone, film, and fast cure products to the durable assembly, performance wood and textile, transportation, electronics, clean energy, aerospace and defense, appliance, heavy machinery, and insulating glass markets. The Construction Adhesives segment provides products used for tile setting, commercial roofing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and insulation applications, as well as caulks and sealants for the consumer market and professional trade. The company sells its products directly to customers, as well as through distributors and retailers in the Americas, Europe, India, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. H.B. Fuller Company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

About FUCHS

Fuchs SE develops, produces, and sells lubricants and related specialties in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and North and South America. The company offers automotive lubricants, such as biodegradable lubricants, central and mobile hydraulic oils, dry coatings, engine and gear oils, motorcycle/two wheelers, and service fluids, as well as various oils for agriculture sector. It also provides industrial lubricants, including chain lubricants, dry coatings, gear and hydraulic oils, machine oils, open gear lubricants, rapidly biodegradable lubricants, compressor and refrigeration oils, release agents, slideways oils, fluids and industrial oils, textile machine oils, and turbine oils. In addition, the company offers lubricating greases comprising assembly pastes, biodegradable greases, food grade greases, multi-purpose/long-life greases, pastes for extreme temperatures, perfluorinated pastes, and wheel bearing greases, as well as gear boxes, and greases for central lubricating system, extreme temperature, machine tools, plain and roller bearings, rail vehicles, spray cans or rattle cans, and solid lubricants. Further, it provides metal processing lubricants consisting of cleaners, corrosion preventives, cutting and grinding, forming lubricants, and quenching oils; and special application lubricants for application equipment, chain lubrication, dry coatings, food and beverage, gears, sugar processing, railway traffic, plain and roller bearings, glass manufacturing process, hot forming, maintenance, open gears, pastes, release agents, other specialties, special greases, and wind power plants. Additionally, the company offers open gear and surface coating services. The company was formerly known as Fuchs Petrolub SE and changed its name to Fuchs SE in July 2023. Fuchs SE was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Mannheim, Germany.