Fastenal Company $FAST Holdings Boosted by American National Bank & Trust

Key Points

• American National Bank & Trust increased its stake in Fastenal by 89.5% in the 2nd quarter, now owning 40,536 shares valued at approximately $1.7 million.
• Wall Street analysts show increasing optimism for Fastenal, with one upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" rating and setting price targets ranging from $45.00 to $82.00.
• Fastenal recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29, surpassing expectations, alongside a 8.6% year-over-year revenue increase totaling $2.08 billion.

American National Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 89.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,536 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,143 shares during the quarter. American National Bank & Trust's holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAST. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 696 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in Fastenal by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 702 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 4,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 750 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 86.3% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 842 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1248 Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stephens increased their price target on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $47.85 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.12. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $34.69 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The firm has a market cap of $54.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.62%.

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.

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