Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Research Coverage Started at Bank of America

Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in a research report sent to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a buy rating and set a $80.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $69.63.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $70.61 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $40.43 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.98. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $55.42 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,529 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,334,000 after purchasing an additional 193,734 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,179,000 after purchasing an additional 66,130 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Fastenal by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,794,000 after buying an additional 517,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Fastenal by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after buying an additional 636,546 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.