Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Stock Has Average Price Target of $49.50

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Thirteen analysts give Fastenal an average “Hold” rating, with a consensus 12-month price target of $49.50.
• Fastenal reported quarterly EPS of $0.33, in line with estimates, while revenue reached $2.39 billion—up 14.7% year over year and above expectations.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share, equivalent to a 2.1% annual yield, although insiders recently sold shares and insider ownership stands at just 0.28%.

Shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, June 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock opened at $50.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.86 and a 200-day moving average of $47.08. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $38.97 and a 52-week high of $52.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.56, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.69.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Fastenal will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,001,000. The trade was a 63.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Ancius sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 58,690 shares in the company, valued at $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FAST. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 69.6% during the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 748 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies serving businesses, contractors, manufacturers and other organizations. Its product offerings include fasteners such as bolts, nuts and screws, as well as safety equipment, tools, cutting tools, material-handling products, electrical and plumbing supplies, and maintenance and repair items.

The company sells products through a network of branch locations, onsite customer facilities, industrial vending machines and digital platforms.

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