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

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $77.40.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 target price for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $74.82 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average price of $79.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.66. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.33 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced 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 return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS 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 dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 158,289 shares of company stock worth $12,639,438. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently 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.