Analysts Set Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target at $73.33

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $73.33.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total value of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,553,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,261 shares of company stock worth $13,874,979 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FAST. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $78.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.23. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $58.23 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.82 billion, a PE ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

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.