Investment Analysts’ Recent Ratings Changes for Fastenal (FAST)

A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) recently:

• 12/11/2024 – Fastenal was downgraded by analysts at HSBC Holdings plc from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating. They now have a $70.00 price target on the stock.
• 12/11/2024 – Fastenal was downgraded by analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating.
• 12/11/2024 – Fastenal was downgraded by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They now have a $86.00 price target on the stock.
• 12/6/2024 – Fastenal had its price target raised by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc. from $74.00 to $85.00. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.
• 11/13/2024 – Fastenal is now covered by analysts at UBS Group AG. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8 %

Fastenal stock opened at $75.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.83. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.33 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current 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 of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 158,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,639,438. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,999,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,863 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 5.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,251,000 after buying an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Fastenal by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,334,000 after acquiring an additional 193,734 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.