Wolfe Research Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its target price hoisted by Wolfe Research from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. Wolfe Research currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.27.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $76.08 on Thursday. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. This represents a 35.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 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.