Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Price

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Barclays from $45.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.78% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on FAST. Wolfe Research upgraded Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Baird R W raised shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Fastenal in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.32.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of FAST stock opened at $40.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.92. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $35.31 and a 1 year high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.38.

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

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $49.58 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,800. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Welch & Forbes LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 32,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.1% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 5.8% in the first quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 3.5% during the first quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 5,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.