Stephens Increases Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target to $75.00

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Stephens from $56.00 to $75.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Stephens’ target price points to a potential downside of 2.48% from the stock’s previous close.

FAST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley started 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. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST opened at $76.91 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.26, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $56.41 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Sara Bay Financial grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 11,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Team Hewins LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 3,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Fastenal

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.