Wesbanco Bank Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank Inc. significantly increased its investment in Fastenal Company by 407.7%, acquiring an additional 14,269 shares, bringing its total holdings to 17,769 shares valued at approximately $746,000.
• Fastenal's quarterly earnings reported a slight increase, with $0.29 earnings per share exceeding analyst expectations of $0.28, and revenue reaching $2.08 billion.
• Analysts remain cautiously optimistic about Fastenal, with the stock receiving varied ratings; the average target price has been set at $46.82, indicating a mix of "buy" and "hold" ratings among brokerage firms.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) by 407.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,769 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,269 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Fastenal were worth $746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Fastenal by 0.3% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company's stock worth $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company's stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.82.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.76 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $47.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.68. The stock has a market cap of $54.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.92, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.97. Fastenal Company has a 52 week low of $34.69 and a 52 week high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (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 net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's payout ratio is 84.62%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total value of $2,341,188.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 in the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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