Fastenal’s (FAST) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Stifel Nicolaus

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $86.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $80.00. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.95% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on FAST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.89.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $76.82 on Monday. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $56.41 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $68.77 and a 200-day moving average of $67.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 9,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $415,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 413 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.