Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $49.50 According to Brokerages

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.50.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at $2,875,810. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FAST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,105,454,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,417,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,561,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $747,395,000 after buying an additional 183,238 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter worth $11,419,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter worth $410,919,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $50.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.69. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $52.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.12.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 88.14%.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies serving businesses, contractors, manufacturers and other organizations. Its product offerings include fasteners such as bolts, nuts and screws, as well as safety equipment, tools, cutting tools, material-handling products, electrical and plumbing supplies, and maintenance and repair items.

The company sells products through a network of branch locations, onsite customer facilities, industrial vending machines and digital platforms.