Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Issues Earnings Results

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01), RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $70.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.83. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $50.30 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.00.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $2,331,196.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 105,682 shares of company stock worth $7,375,853. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter worth about $405,513,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter worth about $195,459,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,092,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,243,000 after buying an additional 2,492,722 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,060,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,514,000 after buying an additional 1,668,988 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 47.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,691,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,344,000 after buying an additional 1,505,936 shares during the period. 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.