Analysts Set Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) PT at $66.67

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $66.67.

FAST has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $70.37 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.92. 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 has a market capitalization of $40.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.01, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.01.

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. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FAST. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 2,172.2% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.