Redmond Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Redmond Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,983 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the period. Fastenal comprises about 1.0% of Redmond Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Redmond Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $4,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.5 %

FAST stock opened at $74.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

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

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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 cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Company 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.