AXQ Capital LP Buys Shares of 12,924 Fastenal Company $FAST

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 12,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $496,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 2.4% during 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 period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $158,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth about $2,199,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 111.0% in the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 target price on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Bank of America raised their price target on Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price target on Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.85.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $46.46 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.01 and a 200-day moving average of $43.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.73. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.21%.

Fastenal 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.