Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)’s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $72.19 and traded as high as $72.80. Fastenal shares last traded at $71.92, with a volume of 4,004,342 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FAST. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.40.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $41.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.49 and a 200-day moving average of $72.19.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,264.24. This trade represents a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 158,289 shares of company stock worth $12,639,438 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Fastenal by 8.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 118,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,444,000 after acquiring an additional 9,728 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 9.4% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 7,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 49.2% in the second quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 270.0% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 5,209 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Company Profile

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.