Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.45.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FAST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Fastenal from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $86.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.66, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,616.07. This trade represents a 71.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total transaction of $768,861.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,987,750. This trade represents a 27.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 193,200 shares of company stock worth $7,895,625 over the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FAST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $522,558,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8,541.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,694,235 shares of the company's stock worth $131,388,000 after buying an additional 1,674,628 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Fastenal by 97.5% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,280,009 shares of the company's stock worth $137,760,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,081,620 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,319 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $43.56. The company had a trading volume of 6,152,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,027,584. The firm's fifty day moving average is $41.39 and its 200 day moving average is $39.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 4.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.34, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.96. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $32.00 and a 12 month high of $43.99.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 31.99% and a net margin of 15.13%. The business's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.