UBS Group Begins Coverage on Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FAST. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.80.

Fastenal Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.71. 126,337 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,305,573. The company has a market cap of $47.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.60, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.04. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $59.47 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $24,168,521. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 222,079 shares of company stock worth $16,563,600 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FAST. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at about $310,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 499.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,186,000 after purchasing an additional 110,027 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth approximately $11,212,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 5.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 210,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,259,000 after purchasing an additional 11,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,643,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.