Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target Increased to $80.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $67.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target points to a potential upside of 4.02% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on FAST. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. 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 research note on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.33.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.3 %

FAST stock opened at $76.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $56.41 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $747,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 98.6% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 118,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,126,000 after purchasing an additional 58,726 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 205.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 18,281 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 499.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,186,000 after purchasing an additional 110,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 7.2% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,371,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,316,000 after purchasing an additional 91,754 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by 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.