Values First Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 6,689 Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 16,819 shares of the company's stock worth $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,292 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 10,251 shares of the company's stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,966 shares during the period. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $295,000. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $485,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC downgraded 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, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.91.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $74.78. 2,549,000 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,333,444. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The firm has a market cap of $42.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.10.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This is a boost from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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.