Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co Cuts Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lowered its stake in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,166 shares of the company’s stock after selling 246 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $1,933,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $5,995,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $832,000. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $73.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The firm has a market cap of $42.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $74.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.54. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. 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 yield of 2.33%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.91.

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.