Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Receives $68.80 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.80.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective 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.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $62.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.65. The company has a market cap of $35.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 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 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 2,172.2% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.