H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) vs. Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Head-To-Head Contrast

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

Volatility and Risk

Air Products and Chemicals has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, H. B. Fuller has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Air Products and Chemicals pays an annual dividend of $7.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. H. B. Fuller pays an annual dividend of $0.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Air Products and Chemicals pays out -3,290.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. H. B. Fuller pays out 27.3% 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. Air Products and Chemicals has increased its dividend for 43 consecutive years and H. B. Fuller has increased its dividend for 57 consecutive years. Air Products and Chemicals is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Air Products and Chemicals and H. B. Fuller”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Air Products and Chemicals	$12.60 billion	4.96	-$394.50 million	($0.22)	-1,276.56
H. B. Fuller	$3.55 billion	0.77	$151.97 million	$3.59	14.13

H. B. Fuller has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Air Products and Chemicals. Air Products and Chemicals 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Air Products and Chemicals and H. B. Fuller, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Air Products and Chemicals	0	7	10	1	2.67
H. B. Fuller	0	3	4	1	2.75

Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus target price of $334.69, suggesting a potential upside of 19.17%. H. B. Fuller has a consensus target price of $64.62, suggesting a potential upside of 27.38%. Given H. B. Fuller’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe H. B. Fuller is more favorable than Air Products and Chemicals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

81.7% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.9% of H. B. Fuller shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of H. B. Fuller shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Air Products and Chemicals	-0.38%	16.87%	7.18%
H. B. Fuller	5.56%	12.65%	4.97%

Summary

H. B. Fuller beats Air Products and Chemicals on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals. It also designs and manufactures equipment for air separation, hydrocarbon recovery and purification, natural gas liquefaction, and liquid helium and liquid hydrogen transport and storage. The company was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

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.