Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Upgraded to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) was upgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $52.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 22.12% from the stock’s previous close.

FAST has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $52.00 in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.73.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of FAST opened at $42.58 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.79, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.89. Fastenal has a one year low of $35.31 and a one year high of $50.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.19.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,800. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sarah N. Nielsen acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 3,000 shares of company stock worth $131,630. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FAST. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 5.8% in the first quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 4.7% during the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 5,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 5,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV now owns 14,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.