Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target Raised to $80.00

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price objective raised by Stephens from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.10.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $81.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.57.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total transaction of $1,219,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $487,616.07. This represents a 71.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $873,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,756,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 3.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,703,000 after buying an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Fastenal by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,932,000 after buying an additional 7,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 36,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 8,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.