Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Raised to Strong-Buy at Rothschild & Co Redburn

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) was upgraded by stock analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FAST. Morgan Stanley set a $48.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Fastenal from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.31.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $47.05 on Monday. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $38.97 and a twelve month high of $50.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 33.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Fastenal by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,734,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,196,502,000 after acquiring an additional 631,889 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,297,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,898,031,000 after purchasing an additional 919,158 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,699,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,508,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,047 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 14.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,215,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 12.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,292,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744,193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

About Fastenal

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.