Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

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

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of FAST opened at $70.45 on Friday. Fastenal has a one year low of $50.30 and a one year high of $79.04. The company has a market cap of $40.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.83.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $2,331,196.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,600. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. O Dell Group LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 131.7% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

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.