UBS Group Begins Coverage on Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Equities research analysts at UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.67% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on FAST. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.80.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 480,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,306,465. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.64 and a 200-day moving average of $69.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.86, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $59.47 and a 12-month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total value of $1,033,669.73. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,264.24. The trade was a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $1,270,509.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,667.05. This represents a 73.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 230,553 shares of company stock worth $17,269,993. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FAST. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $223,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Windsor Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $11,212,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.