UBS Group Begins Coverage on Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.4 %

FAST stock opened at $81.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $74.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.22. Fastenal has a one year low of $59.47 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. This trade represents a 14.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,033 shares of company stock valued at $19,240,434. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth $287,000. Windsor Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in Fastenal in the first quarter valued at about $11,212,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently 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.