Hantz Financial Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Fastenal Company $FAST

Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 237,454.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 173,415 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 173,342 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 103.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,734,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,849,000 after purchasing an additional 4,950,503 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 94.4% in the second quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 9,298,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,517,000 after purchasing an additional 4,513,985 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Fastenal by 107.2% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,822,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,530,339 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Fastenal by 90.0% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,934,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,251,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337,187 shares during the period. Finally, Fenimore Asset Management Inc raised its position in Fastenal by 101.0% in the second quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 3,747,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,419 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.1%

FAST opened at $41.55 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.33.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 15.34%.The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays set a $45.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock valued at $4,336,603. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.