Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target Raised to $64.00

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price objective increased by HSBC from $59.00 to $64.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. HSBC currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on FAST. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $67.67.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $69.39 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.08. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. The company has a market capitalization of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $2,331,196.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $2,331,196.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 105,682 shares of company stock worth $7,375,853 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Fastenal by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 131.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. 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.