Sovran Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of FAST. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 8,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 2,083 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Panoramic Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on FAST. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.9 %

Fastenal stock opened at $73.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $42.21 billion, a PE ratio of 36.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.57%.

Fastenal Profile

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, North America, and internationally. It offers fasteners, and related industrial and construction supplies under the Fastenal name. The company’s fastener products include threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers that are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.