JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would indicate a potential downside of 9.60% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.64.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST traded up $0.29 on Tuesday, reaching $45.36. 2,672,029 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,028,294. The firm has a market cap of $52.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.25. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $32.04 and a fifty-two week high of $46.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 4.28.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.13% and a return on equity of 31.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total transaction of $1,349,046.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 11,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total transaction of $452,065.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 163,200 shares of company stock worth $6,675,975. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 6,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 3,370 shares during the last quarter. Yarbrough Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at about $378,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 100.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 77,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,268,000 after buying an additional 39,016 shares during the last quarter. Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds Voor DE Media PNO grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds Voor DE Media PNO now owns 230,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,660,000 after buying an additional 115,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 86.3% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 842 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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