Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Downgraded by Stifel Nicolaus to “Hold”

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) was downgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $86.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target indicates a potential upside of 7.81% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on FAST. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.80.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $79.77 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $78.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.70 billion, a PE ratio of 39.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.00. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.33 and a 52-week high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business 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 company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total value of $37,244.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 208,289 shares of company stock valued at $16,123,438. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,989,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,009,000 after buying an additional 1,346,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Fastenal by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,683,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,251,000 after acquiring an additional 880,372 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Fastenal by 4,008.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 756,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,522,000 after acquiring an additional 737,833 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 636,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,878,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,690,000 after purchasing an additional 608,596 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.