Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.80.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FAST shares. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective 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 target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.1 %

Fastenal stock opened at $62.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.63. The stock has a market cap of $35.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at $724,486.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 7.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 13,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the period. Clear Rock Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 42,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,067,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,178,000 after purchasing an additional 16,366 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 36.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 29,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,299,000 after purchasing an additional 7,988 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

About Fastenal

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.