Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.80.

A number of analysts have weighed in on FAST shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. HSBC increased their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at $221,480. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $732,191.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRN Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 13,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,033,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 42,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,278,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,067,889 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,178,000 after buying an additional 16,366 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fastenal by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 29,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,299,000 after buying an additional 7,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 499.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,046 shares of the company's stock worth $10,186,000 after purchasing an additional 110,027 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST traded down $0.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $62.84. 5,921,891 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,313,607. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.62. The company has a market cap of $35.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $53.83 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.49.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

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.