Fastenal (FAST) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Q: What analysts cover Fastenal?

Fastenal has been rated by research analysts at Barclays , DA Davidson , Morgan Stanley , Robert W. Baird , Rothschild & Co Redburn , Sanford C. Bernstein , Weiss Ratings , William Blair , and Wolfe Research in the past 90 days.

$50.75 +0.53 (+1.06%)

Closing price 10/2/2026 04:00 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$50.76 +0.02 (+0.03%)

As of 10/2/2026 07:44 PM Eastern

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Fastenal - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Hold

Based on 13 Analyst Ratings

Sell
2

Hold
5

Buy
6

Based on 13 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Fastenal in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold." Out of the 13 analysts, 2 have given a sell rating, 5 have given a hold rating, and 6 have given a buy rating for FAST.

Consensus Price Target

$49.50
-2.46% Downside

According to the 13 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Fastenal, the average price target is $49.50. The highest price target for FAST is $55.00, while the lowest price target for FAST is $42.00. The average price target represents a forecasted downside of -2.46% from the current price of $50.75.

MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.

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FAST Analyst Ratings Over Time

Type	Current Forecast 10/3/25 to 10/3/26	1 Month Ago 9/3/25 to 9/3/26	3 Months Ago 7/5/25 to 7/5/26	1 Year Ago 10/3/24 to 10/3/25
Strong Buy	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	6 Buy rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)
Hold	5 Hold rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)
Sell	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$49.50	$49.17	$47.08	$46.82
Forecasted Upside	-2.46% Downside	-0.13% Downside	-3.13% Downside	-2.22% Downside
Consensus Rating	Hold	Hold	Hold	Hold

FAST Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.

FAST Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.

Fastenal Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Fastenal	Industrials Companies	Broader Market
Consensus Rating Score	2.31	2.31	2.53
Consensus Rating	Hold	Hold	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	-2.46% Downside	107.88% Upside	21.53% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent FAST News	Positive News	Neutral News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

Time Frame

Start Date

End Date

Show

Export

Date	Brokerage	Analyst	Action	Rating	Price Target	Report Date Upside/Downside
9/15/2026	Wolfe Research 4 of 5 stars	Nigel Coe Not Rated	Initiated Coverage	Underperform	$51.00	+3.16%
9/11/2026	Weiss Ratings 3 of 5 stars		Downgrade	Buy (B) ➝ Buy (B-)
9/4/2026	William Blair 3 of 5 stars		Reiterated Rating	Outperform
8/7/2026	Robert W. Baird Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	David Manthey Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target		$54.00	+5.04%
7/16/2026	Morgan Stanley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Chris Snyder Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Equal Weight	$48.00 ➝ $52.00	+12.59%
7/16/2026	Barclays Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Guy Hardwick Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Equal Weight	$47.00 ➝ $46.00	+1.41%
7/15/2026	Sanford C. Bernstein Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Underperform
7/15/2026	DA Davidson Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Chris Dankert Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Neutral	$46.00	+1.77%
7/13/2026	Rothschild & Co Redburn Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	William Blunt Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target	Buy	$55.00	+18.31%
6/4/2026	Jefferies Financial Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Buy
Get the Latest News and Ratings for FAST and Related Stocks Enter your email address below to receive the latest news and analysts' ratings for Fastenal and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter.
4/13/2026	Bank of America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target		$48.00 ➝ $55.00	+24.18%
4/9/2026	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Boost Target	Neutral	$46.00 ➝ $47.00	-4.05%
3/5/2026	Raymond James Financial Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Set Target		$48.00	+1.72%
3/5/2026	Benchmark Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Buy
1/21/2026	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Stephen Volkmann Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Neutral	$46.00	+4.33%
8/21/2025	Northcoast Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Neutral
7/15/2025	Loop Capital Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Hold
7/15/2025	Stephens Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Tommy Moll Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Equal Weight	$40.00 ➝ $45.00	-0.16%
7/3/2025	Stifel Nicolaus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Brian Butler Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target		$82.00	+91.63%
12/11/2024	HSBC Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Downgrade	Hold ➝ Reduce	$35.00	-12.25%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Saturday at 11:17 PM ET.

Should I Buy Fastenal Stock? FAST Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Saturday, October 3, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Fastenal pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Fastenal
Bull Case

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Fastenal:

Fastenal recently reported strong second-quarter results with revenue of $2.39 billion, which exceeded the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion and represented a 14.7% year-over-year increase, demonstrating robust demand for its industrial and construction supplies.
The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.24 to $0.26 per share, which annualizes to $1.04 and provides a dividend yield of approximately 2.07% based on the current stock price of $50.75, offering a steady income stream for investors.
Fastenal shares recently crossed above their 200-day moving average of $47.08, a technical indicator that often signals a shift in long-term momentum and suggests that the stock is entering a potential uptrend after trading near its 52-week low of $38.97 earlier in the year.
Institutional interest in the stock has surged, with CX Institutional raising its position by 1,073.1% in the third quarter to hold 203,749 shares, indicating that large investors are increasingly confident in the company's future performance.
The company maintains a very low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01 and a high current ratio of 4.18, which means it has minimal debt obligations and ample liquid assets to cover its short-term liabilities, providing a strong financial safety net.

Fastenal
Bear Case

Investors should be bearish about investing in Fastenal for these reasons:

The stock currently trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.01, which is significantly higher than the consensus price target of $49.50, suggesting that the current valuation may be stretched relative to analyst expectations for future growth.
Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 88.14%, meaning the company is distributing a very large portion of its earnings as dividends, which leaves limited capital available for reinvestment in the business or future dividend growth.
Recent insider activity has been predominantly negative, with Director Rita Heise selling 34,964 shares and Director Michael Ancius selling 3,000 shares in the last few months, which can signal a lack of confidence from those closest to the company's operations.
Short interest in Fastenal has increased to 35,653,332 shares as of the most recent record date, representing a 2.9% month-over-month increase, indicating that a significant number of traders are betting against the stock's price appreciation.
The consensus rating from thirteen ratings firms is "Hold," with two analysts issuing a "Sell" recommendation and five issuing a "Hold," suggesting that Wall Street is divided and not uniformly bullish on the stock's immediate upside potential.

FAST Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 13 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Fastenal is $49.50, with a high forecast of $55.00 and a low forecast of $42.00.

13 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Fastenal in the last twelve months. There are currently 2 sell ratings, 5 hold ratings and 6 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities research analysts is that investors should "hold" FAST shares. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in FAST, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

According to analysts, Fastenal's stock has a predicted downside of -2.46% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Fastenal's stock had 2 downgrades and 1 upgrade by analysts.

Fastenal has been rated by research analysts at Barclays, DA Davidson, Morgan Stanley, Robert W. Baird, Rothschild & Co Redburn, Sanford C. Bernstein, Weiss Ratings, William Blair, and Wolfe Research in the past 90 days.

Analysts like Fastenal more than other "industrials" companies. The consensus rating score for Fastenal is 2.31 while the average consensus rating score for "industrials" companies is 2.31. Learn more on how FAST compares to other companies.

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Brokerages With Fastenal Recommendations

MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Fastenal analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 9/15/2026.

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Fastenal (FAST) Stock Forecast & Price Target