Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.67.

FAST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu acquired 500 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,480. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $63.28 per share, with a total value of $31,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,480. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Jansen sold 11,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $732,191.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,096.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 1.1% during the first quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Sara Bay Financial lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 11,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $70.89 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.02. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $53.83 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The company has a market capitalization of $40.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

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.