DGS Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 3,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 283.2% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. HSBC increased their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.80.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $63.41 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $66.12 and its 200-day moving average is $68.67. The company has a market cap of $36.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

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.