Brokerages Set Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Target Price at $76.91

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.91.

FAST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $74.33 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 73.0% in the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,219,000 after acquiring an additional 36,742 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,488 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,756,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,572,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,703,000 after purchasing an additional 165,423 shares in the last quarter. 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.