Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.70.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $41.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $47.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.79, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.89. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.37.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 28th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen bought 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,000. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $49.58 per share, with a total value of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,800. The trade was a 11.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $131,630. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Fastenal by 99.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,281,330,000 after purchasing an additional 27,107,520 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,931,830,000 after buying an additional 23,380,022 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,506,141,000 after buying an additional 18,329,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 87.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,743,000 after buying an additional 16,308,254 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.