Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $76.91.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,553,400. The trade was a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,660 shares of company stock worth $6,211,126 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 51.0% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $76.09 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.75 and a 200 day moving average of $73.17.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1,842,560.16 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

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.