Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target Cut to $69.00

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $71.00 to $69.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 3.32% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on FAST. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC increased 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $66.78 on Tuesday. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $52.86 and a 12-month high of $79.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.29. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson purchased 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,285. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fastenal by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.8% in the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 3,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.0% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.