Associated Banc Corp Grows Stock Position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Associated Banc Corp boosted its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,457 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 450 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Postrock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $12,174,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $16,217,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 301,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,675,000 after buying an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth $2,343,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 2,699 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC lowered 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. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.91.

Fastenal Stock Up 2.1 %

FAST opened at $75.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $74.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.29. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 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 return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 85.57%.

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.