Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) to Strong-Buy

by · The Markets Daily

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST – Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on FAST. Barclays dropped their target price on Fastenal from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.73.

Read Our Latest Analysis on FAST

Fastenal Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:FAST opened at $42.58 on Monday. 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 has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.70 and a 200 day moving average of $44.43. The firm has a market cap of $48.88 billion, a PE ratio of 39.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sarah N. Nielsen purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $495,800. The trade was a 11.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 3,000 shares of company stock worth $131,630. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FAST. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Fastenal by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 9,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Fastenal during the third quarter worth approximately $1,537,000. Syverson Strege & Co acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth $210,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the 3rd quarter worth $9,824,000. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 66.3% during the 3rd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 618,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,335,000 after acquiring an additional 246,514 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Fastenal

(Get Free Report)

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.

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