Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $77.40.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,553,400. This represents a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total value of $1,970,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

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

Fastenal Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $73.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.24 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.81. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

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.