Morgan Stanley Increases Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target to $52.00

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $48.00 to $52.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 14.31% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their target price on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.83.

Fastenal Stock Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $45.49 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 4.18. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.72.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Fastenal by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,734,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,196,502,000 after buying an additional 631,889 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,297,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,898,031,000 after acquiring an additional 919,158 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,699,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,508,216,000 after acquiring an additional 685,047 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 2,242,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,292,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744,193 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.