Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Price Target Raised to $63.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $57.00 to $63.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on FAST. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a buy rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an equal weight rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday. They set a buy rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $68.89.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $73.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $41.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.82, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $56.41 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.02.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FAST. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after buying an additional 1,043,529 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Fastenal by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,334,000 after buying an additional 193,734 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Fastenal by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,179,000 after buying an additional 66,130 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Fastenal by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,420,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,794,000 after buying an additional 517,172 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Fastenal by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,837,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,161,000 after buying an additional 636,546 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.