Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Has Average Target Price of $51.46 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give Fastenal a consensus “Hold” rating, with seven buys, five holds and two sells among 14 brokerages. The average 12-month price target is $51.46.
• Fastenal reported quarterly EPS of $0.35, beating estimates by $0.01, while revenue rose 15.5% year over year to $2.46 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, equivalent to $1.04 annually and a 2.0% yield; institutional investors own 81.38% of the stock.

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.46.

FAST has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their price target on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the second quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the first quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,356 shares of the company's stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 12.9% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% in the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.1%

Fastenal stock opened at $52.47 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 3.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $52.92. The stock has a market cap of $60.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.69.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 35.13% and a net margin of 15.62%. Fastenal's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.87%.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.

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