SRH Advisors LLC Buys 400 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

SRH Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 800 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the quarter. SRH Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co raised its stake in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,780.32. This represents a 67.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $47.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a PE ratio of 46.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $48.18 and its 200-day moving average is $43.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $34.69 and a 52 week high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

About Fastenal

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.