Fastenal’s (FAST) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus restated their buy rating on shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $86.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $80.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Stephens upped their price objective on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.33.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $77.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a one year low of $56.41 and a one year high of $79.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $69.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.95.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,799 shares of company stock valued at $9,967,510 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. American Trust purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $315,000. American International Group Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 196,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,739,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $975,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $1,519,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.