Fastenal's (FAST) Buy (B) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Fastenal's stock received a reiterated "buy" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating positive analyst sentiment surrounding the company.
• After recent earnings, Fastenal reported $0.29 EPS, surpassing expectations and showing an 8.6% year-over-year revenue increase, although analysts have mixed ratings on the stock.
• Executive insider trades show significant stock sales, with key executives reducing their positions in the company, highlighting potential concerns on future performance.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "positive" rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.41.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ FAST opened at $47.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $48.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.76. The company has a market capitalization of $54.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.94. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $34.69 and a 12 month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The company's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total transaction of $951,760.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $460,780.32. This trade represents a 67.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 49,219 shares of the company's stock worth $3,817,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.4% in the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% in the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

About Fastenal

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.

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