Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) PT Raised to $80.00

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price target increased by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $67.00 to $80.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 4.02% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.33.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $76.91 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $69.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $56.41 and a 52-week high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FAST. American Trust acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $315,000. American International Group Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 196,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,739,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $975,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,519,000. 81.38% of the stock is 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.