Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.33.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. HSBC increased their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,285. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,285. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $405,513,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 497.3% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580,478 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth about $195,459,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 47.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,691,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505,936 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Fastenal by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,679,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $67.62 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.29. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $52.86 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (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 company 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 firm posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.23%.

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.