Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target Raised to $85.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its target price lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $74.00 to $85.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens lifted their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.80.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $81.05 on Friday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.33 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.32, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.63 and a 200-day moving average of $70.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the business’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 value of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,264.24. This trade represents a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 21,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,364,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 49,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 51.1% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 147,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,266,000 after purchasing an additional 49,895 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 15,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,643,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.