Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Upgraded at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. Wolfe Research currently has $43.00 price target on the stock.

FAST has been the subject of several other research reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Northcoast Research began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays set a $45.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Tuesday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.32.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $40.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.80, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.41. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $35.31 and a 1 year high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,800. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 5.9% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 55,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,725,000 after buying an additional 3,114 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in Fastenal by 99.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 691,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,888,000 after buying an additional 343,936 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth about $20,347,000. Finally, Credit Agricole S A purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,346,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.