Fox Run Management L.L.C. Makes New Investment in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock opened at $77.09 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $75.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.81. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week 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 market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC lowered shares of 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. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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.