Parallel Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,208 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its holdings in Fastenal by 440.7% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, HSBC lowered Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $76.46 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $74.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.47. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The firm has a market cap of $43.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

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.