Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.00.

A number of research firms have weighed in on FAST. Barclays set a $43.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on Fastenal from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,000. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,800. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,515,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,430,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346,045 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 99.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,281,330,000 after buying an additional 27,107,520 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 103.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,931,830,000 after buying an additional 23,380,022 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 103.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,506,141,000 after buying an additional 18,329,847 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 87.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,743,000 after buying an additional 16,308,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Down 2.0%

FAST stock opened at $43.89 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.45. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.85, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.90.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 29th. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 80.00%.

About Fastenal

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.