Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.80.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,264.24. This represents a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This represents a 73.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after purchasing an additional 880,372 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Fastenal by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,334,000 after acquiring an additional 193,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after acquiring an additional 226,126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $83.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a PE ratio of 41.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.99. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $59.47 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.87. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

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.