Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.8333.

Several brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Fastenal from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,893,600. This represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $705,449.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,209,500. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,346,045 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Fastenal by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,734,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,196,502,000 after purchasing an additional 631,889 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,297,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,898,031,000 after purchasing an additional 919,158 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,699,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,508,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $45.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.85 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market cap of $52.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $44.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.10. Fastenal has a one year low of $35.31 and a one year high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 29th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 29th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.27%.

About Fastenal

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.