Pinnbrook Capital Management LP Takes $3.27 Million Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Pinnbrook Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 66,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,272,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,430,322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in Fastenal by 3.6% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,558,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,433,000 after acquiring an additional 53,888 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Fastenal by 6.3% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,713,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,626,000 after acquiring an additional 219,154 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 7,923.2% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,268,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth $634,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Fastenal from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total value of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,893,600. This trade represents a 48.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,209,500. This represents a 24.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $45.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.33, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.85, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.18.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 29th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.27%.

About Fastenal

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.