BankPlus Trust Department Takes Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 26,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its stake in Fastenal by 440.7% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $74.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.43. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 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 business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share 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 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio 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.