Robert W. Baird Increases Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target to $51.00

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price objective raised by Robert W. Baird from $49.00 to $51.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price points to a potential upside of 6.85% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Fastenal from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.18.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of FAST opened at $47.73 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.85, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $54.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.89. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $35.31 and a 1 year high of $50.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.48.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total transaction of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,209,500. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sarah N. Nielsen purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.60 per share, for a total transaction of $39,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 103.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,265,119,000 after buying an additional 75,852,223 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 27,107,520 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,931,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,380,022 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,506,141,000 after purchasing an additional 18,329,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew 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 worth $1,463,743,000 after purchasing an additional 16,308,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.