Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target Raised to $85.00

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price objective increased by Jefferies Financial Group from $74.00 to $85.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America started coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.80.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.9 %

FAST stock opened at $81.05 on Friday. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.33 and a 12 month high of $84.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.88. The firm has a market cap of $46.43 billion, a PE ratio of 40.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,264.24. This trade represents a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock worth $16,123,438. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 3.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after acquiring an additional 165,423 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 60,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,347,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 83.1% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 29,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 13,307 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 33,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,038,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.