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

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.50.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings cut Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,810. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter worth $26,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 69.6% in the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $50.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 4.18. Fastenal has a one year low of $38.97 and a one year high of $52.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.06, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average is $50.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.19.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The business’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.