Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target Raised to $86.00

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $80.00 to $86.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird's target price suggests a potential upside of 5.48% from the company's previous close.

FAST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. William Blair raised Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.10.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded up $1.09 on Monday, hitting $81.54. 3,497,558 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,090,644. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.36 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.64. The company has a market cap of $46.76 billion, a PE ratio of 40.56, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,616.07. This represents a 71.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

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