Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Announces Earnings Results

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01, RTT News reports. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 33.54%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock opened at $69.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.00. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $55.42 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The stock has a market cap of $40.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.39.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fastenal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.89.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $3,116,996.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,489,266.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total transaction of $3,484,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,929,734.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Fastenal

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.