Emerald Advisors LLC Has $421,000 Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Emerald Advisors LLC grew its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,851 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on FAST. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.0 %

FAST stock opened at $75.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $43.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

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.