Wolfe Research Reiterates Underperform Rating for Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Key Points

• Wolfe Research reiterated its “underperform” rating on Fastenal and set a $51 price target, implying approximately 3.16% upside from the reported share price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Fastenal has six Buy, five Hold, and two Sell ratings, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $49.50.
• Fastenal reported quarterly earnings of $0.33 per share, matching estimates, while revenue of $2.39 billion exceeded expectations and rose 14.7% year over year.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underperform" rating reiterated by investment analysts at Wolfe Research in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $51.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research's price objective points to a potential upside of 3.16% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on FAST. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on Fastenal in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.50.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $49.44 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $48.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 4.18. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $38.97 and a 1 year high of $52.92. The company has a market capitalization of $56.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.72.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Michael Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,875,810. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FAST. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the first quarter worth $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company NASDAQ: FAST is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies. The company provides fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and related hardware, along with safety products, tools, material-handling equipment, welding supplies, janitorial products and other maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) materials.

Fastenal serves manufacturers, construction companies, contractors, government organizations and other commercial customers. Its offerings are delivered through a network of branch locations, customer-specific onsite operations, industrial vending machines, e-commerce platforms and other supply-chain services designed to help customers manage inventory and reduce procurement time.

Founded in 1967 by Bob Kierlin in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has expanded from a regional fastener supplier into an international industrial distributor.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.