Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Grows Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,598 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,514 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $5,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $496,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 126.5% in the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 130.9% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 133.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 19,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 11,415 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Barclays set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Fastenal from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of FAST stock opened at $43.95 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.85 and a quick ratio of 2.41. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $35.31 and a one year high of $50.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.47. The company has a market capitalization of $50.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.95, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.90.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 80.00%.

Fastenal Company Profile

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.