Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Downgraded to “Moderate Sell” Rating by Hsbc Global Res

Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) from a hold rating to a moderate sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Fastenal Stock Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $79.04 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $79.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.19. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.33 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. 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 business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.61%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 680 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.86, for a total value of $52,944.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 158,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,639,438 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth about $310,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 87,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,219,000 after acquiring an additional 36,742 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 1.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 369,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Fastenal by 42.0% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 31,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,285,000 after purchasing an additional 9,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 5.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,718,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,974,000 after purchasing an additional 226,126 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.