Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.91.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FAST. 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 note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.2 %

FAST stock opened at $79.80 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $74.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.70, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 85.57%.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 481.9% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.