Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $51.46

Shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.46.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 4th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Fastenal

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 69.6% during the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 748 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth about $38,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of FAST stock opened at $52.55 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.93 and a quick ratio of 2.11. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $38.97 and a 1-year high of $52.92. The firm has a market cap of $60.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.49, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.69.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.87%.

Fastenal Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.

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Analyst Recommendations for Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

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