Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target Increased to $76.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $72.00 to $76.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. 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 target for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Seven equities research 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.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.33.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.2 %

FAST opened at $77.64 on Monday. Fastenal has a one year low of $56.41 and a one year high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.45 billion, a PE ratio of 38.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 162,331 shares of company stock worth $11,705,854 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 2,172.2% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% during the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other 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.