X Square Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 33,869 Fastenal Company $FAST

X Square Capital LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 33,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,627,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on Fastenal in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.17.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $51.26 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 1 year low of $38.97 and a 1 year high of $52.92. The company has a market cap of $58.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.44, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.96 and a 200 day moving average of $46.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.18 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.33. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at $2,875,810. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.