Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.43.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $70.09 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $53.83 and a 12-month high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $40.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.87, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.50.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% in the first quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Sara Bay Financial increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% during the second quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 11,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 1.4% in the second quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Team Hewins LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 3,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.