Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Acquires 56,070 Shares of Fastenal Company $FAST

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 49.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,321 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 56,070 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $7,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. State Street Corp lifted its position in Fastenal by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,734,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,196,502,000 after purchasing an additional 631,889 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,297,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,898,031,000 after buying an additional 919,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,699,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,508,216,000 after buying an additional 685,047 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,307,000 after buying an additional 2,242,116 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $646,046,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.75.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,590,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,944,334. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.02. Fastenal Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $50.63. The company has a market cap of $53.37 billion, a PE ratio of 40.78, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released 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 return on equity of 33.25% and a net margin of 15.39%.The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal 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.