JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target to $63.00

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price objective boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $57.00 to $63.00 in a research note published on Thursday. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an equal weight rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a buy rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a buy rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $68.89.

Fastenal Stock Up 9.8 %

FAST stock opened at $76.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $56.41 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.77 and a 200-day moving average of $67.89.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,529 shares in the last quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 80,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,231,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,839,000. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,125,000. Finally, Taylor Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $279,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.