Postrock Partners LLC Has $14.23 Million Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Postrock Partners LLC has increased its stake in Fastenal Company by 100.1% during the 2nd quarter, making it the firm's 3rd largest holding valued at approximately $14.23 million.
• Fastenal's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.29, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a reported revenue of $2.08 billion, reflecting an 8.6% increase year-over-year.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings on Fastenal, with price targets ranging from $40.00 to $55.00, and a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $46.82.

Postrock Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 100.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 338,720 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 169,429 shares during the quarter. Fastenal comprises about 6.8% of Postrock Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Postrock Partners LLC's holdings in Fastenal were worth $14,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FAST. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 126.5% during the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the company's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,423 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 112.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,770 shares of the company's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 4,108 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 115.5% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 717,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,130,000 after purchasing an additional 384,482 shares during the period. Sara Bay Financial raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 94.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 22,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 10,719 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 77.4% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 20,098 shares of the company's stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 8,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.9%

FAST opened at $47.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 4.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.98 and a 200-day moving average of $43.07. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $34.69 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The company has a market capitalization of $54.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.97.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. Fastenal's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's payout ratio is 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $460,780.32. The trade was a 67.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company's 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 approximately $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Stephens upped their price objective on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.82.

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.

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