Barclays Cuts Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target to $46.00

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $47.00 to $46.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

FAST has been the topic of several other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.83.

Fastenal Stock Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $45.49 on Thursday. Fastenal has a one year low of $38.97 and a one year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.18 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The company has a market cap of $52.22 billion, a PE ratio of 38.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.18.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The company’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 81.36%.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $646,046,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Fastenal by 243.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,095,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,380,000 after purchasing an additional 8,574,208 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Fastenal by 106.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,431,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,118,000 after purchasing an additional 7,943,217 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Fastenal by 14.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1,039.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,337,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,593 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.