Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $1.80 Million Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group boosted its Fastenal stake by 148.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 44,923 shares worth about $1.8 million.
• Fastenal reported Q1 EPS of $0.30, matching expectations, while revenue came in at $2.20 billion and rose 12.4% year over year.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 2.1%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 148.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,923 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,835 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $1,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $648,118,000 after purchasing an additional 7,943,217 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company's stock worth $7,430,322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Fastenal by 14.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company's stock worth $893,307,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in Fastenal by 1,039.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,337,722 shares of the company's stock worth $94,253,000 after buying an additional 2,132,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 90.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,590,292 shares of the company's stock worth $176,068,000 after buying an additional 1,707,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $44.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.75. Fastenal Company has a one year low of $38.97 and a one year high of $50.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.34.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal's revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 28th. Fastenal's payout ratio is 84.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on FAST. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley restated a "positive" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.77.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,893,600. The trade was a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal NASDAQ: FAST is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.

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