Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $68.80.

A number of research firms have commented on FAST. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 101,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,588,000 after buying an additional 5,509 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $747,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,304,000 after purchasing an additional 31,814 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,282,000. Finally, ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $62.84 on Friday. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49. The company has a market capitalization of $35.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $65.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.59.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

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.