Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 673 Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lessened its position in Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,901 shares of the company’s stock after selling 673 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $73.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.26 billion, a PE ratio of 36.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 4.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.67 and its 200 day moving average is $75.19. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. 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 research report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.91.

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.