Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Cut to “Moderate Sell” at Hsbc Global Res

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) was downgraded by research analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

FAST has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stephens increased their target price on Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group began coverage on Fastenal in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.40.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $79.04 on Wednesday. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $61.33 and a 52 week high of $84.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.28 billion, a PE 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, VP John Lewis Soderberg sold 488 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $37,244.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,168,521. This trade represents a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 158,289 shares of company stock worth $12,639,438. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Fastenal by 1.8% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 347,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,866,000 after buying an additional 6,251 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter worth $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Fastenal by 63.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Fastenal by 10.6% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.