JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target to $41.00

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $38.00 to $41.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 10.09% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.64.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $45.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.96. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $32.04 and a 1-year high of $46.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.33.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 11,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total value of $452,065.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.06, for a total transaction of $4,106,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 565,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,200,378.16. This trade represents a 15.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 163,200 shares of company stock valued at $6,675,975 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,685,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,479 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,918,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,214,002,000 after purchasing an additional 234,713 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 1.7% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,418,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $652,875,000 after purchasing an additional 142,972 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Fastenal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,578,000 after purchasing an additional 966,629 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.