Loop Capital Trims Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Target Price to $66.00

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its price objective lowered by Loop Capital from $71.00 to $66.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a hold rating on the stock.

FAST has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. HSBC raised their price objective on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $67.67.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of FAST opened at $68.48 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.20. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $52.28 and a twelve month high of $79.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares in the company, valued at $417,285. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 105,682 shares of company stock worth $7,375,853. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter valued at approximately $923,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the first quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 135.2% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after buying an additional 9,546 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 2,172.2% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 35.0% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 7,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after buying an additional 1,972 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.