Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at UBS Group

Stock analysts at UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.67% from the stock’s previous close.

FAST has been the topic of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America began coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $81.73. 480,765 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,306,465. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 4.40, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $74.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.13. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $59.47 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,096 shares in the company, valued at $388,264.24. This trade represents a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 230,553 shares of company stock worth $17,269,993 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after acquiring an additional 608,596 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Fastenal by 3.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,909,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,334,000 after purchasing an additional 193,734 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 5.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,665,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,179,000 after purchasing an additional 66,130 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,469,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,221,000 after purchasing an additional 48,977 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.