Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FASTGet Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $74.00 to $77.00. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Fastenal traded as high as $75.94 and last traded at $75.81, with a volume of 1303517 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.32.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Fastenal from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.83.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Fastenal

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,285. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total value of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total transaction of $1,364,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,285. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 106,750 shares of company stock worth $7,314,584. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $975,000. American International Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 196,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,739,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $315,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $1,078,000. Finally, American Trust acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. 78.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $43.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.36. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 4.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FASTGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 15.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.23%.

Fastenal Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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