Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.80.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stephens raised their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $83.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.31. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $59.49 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 41.57, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This represents a 73.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 5.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Fastenal by 3.4% during the second 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 period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,974,000 after buying an additional 226,126 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.