Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target Cut to $69.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price objective cut by Robert W. Baird from $71.00 to $69.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $67.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $66.41 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07. 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 has a 12 month low of $52.86 and a 12 month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total transaction of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,285. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.5% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 135,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,383,000 after purchasing an additional 3,359 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.1% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 110,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,048,000 after purchasing an additional 4,359 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at approximately $640,000. Advisor Partners II LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 4.2% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 21,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the period. Finally, Graypoint LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 41.9% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 6,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,903 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.