Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.67.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. HSBC boosted their price target on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $67.57 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $73.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.29. The firm has a market cap of $38.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 77.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total value of $1,633,607.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $387,333.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,640 shares of company stock worth $5,044,657. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,336,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,555,700,000 after purchasing an additional 710,884 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 45,154,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,637,000 after purchasing an additional 138,257 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,780,000 after purchasing an additional 423,112 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,676,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,259,000 after purchasing an additional 117,040 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,092,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492,722 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.