Gibson Capital LLC Invests $194,000 in Fastenal Company $FAST

Gibson Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAST. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.3% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,817,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.4% in the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,559,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.7% in the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 2.4% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $45.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.91. Fastenal Company has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 84.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,780.32. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

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.