Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Buys New Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter worth $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 54.1% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of 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 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 85.57%.

Fastenal Company 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.