Polymer Capital Management US LLC Invests $433,000 in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $433,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unigestion Holding SA bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $467,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $662,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $16,648,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,095,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock 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 target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Down 4.6 %

FAST opened at $74.42 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $42.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $75.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.23. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. 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.