Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Fastenal Company has received an average analyst rating of "Hold" from fifteen research firms, with one sell, nine holds, four buys, and one strong buy recommendation.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.29, slightly missing analysts' expectations, while revenue saw an 11.7% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• Fastenal declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with an ex-dividend date of October 28th, reflecting an annual yield of 2.1%.

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.50.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays set a $45.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,747.98. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 100.0% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 111.9% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Price Performance

NASDAQ FAST opened at $41.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.15 billion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.97. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $50.63.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. Fastenal's revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.24%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.