Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Cut to Moderate Sell at Hsbc Global Res

Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) from a hold rating to a moderate sell rating in a research note released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America initiated 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. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.40.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $78.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $79.30 and its 200-day moving average is $71.19. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $61.33 and a 12-month high of $84.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,199.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 158,289 shares of company stock worth $12,639,438 over the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 347,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,866,000 after buying an additional 6,251 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth $261,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 63.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 10.6% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 436 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.