Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Lowered to Reduce Rating by HSBC

HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) from a hold rating to a reduce rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $70.00 price objective on the stock.

FAST has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.40.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $78.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40. The company has a market cap of $44.95 billion, a PE ratio of 39.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.28. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.33 and a 52-week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total transaction of $1,033,669.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,264.24. The trade was a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 158,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,639,438 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FAST. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 5.8% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC grew its position in Fastenal by 1.5% during the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 4.5% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently 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.