Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stephens Analyst Says

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Stephens from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Stephens’ price objective would indicate a potential downside of 0.56% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.10.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.5 %

FAST opened at $80.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.13 billion, a PE ratio of 40.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.36 and a one year high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $75.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.50.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total value of $1,219,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $487,616.07. This trade represents a 71.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $522,558,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 8,541.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,694,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,388,000 after buying an additional 1,674,628 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 100.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,081,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547,319 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $101,183,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 301.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,478,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110,445 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.