Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Rating Lowered by HSBC

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) was downgraded by equities research analysts at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $70.00 price target on the stock. HSBC’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 11.44% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $79.04 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a one year low of $61.33 and a one year high of $84.88. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.32, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fastenal news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 $388,264.24. This trade represents a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider William Joseph Drazkowski sold 16,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $1,270,509.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,997 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 158,289 shares of company stock worth $12,639,438 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 528.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1,019.0% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by 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.