Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $77.40.

A number of analysts recently commented on FAST shares. HSBC cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $75.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.91. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.33 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $43.03 billion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total transaction of $52,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 158,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,639,438 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Fastenal by 4,008.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,522,000 after purchasing an additional 737,833 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Fastenal by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,161,000 after buying an additional 636,546 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after buying an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

About Fastenal

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.