Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Fastenal Company has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from twelve brokerages, with one sell rating, eight hold ratings, and three buy ratings, and an average 12-month price target of $45.64.
• In recent insider trades, CFO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 21,052 shares, decreasing her position by 67.38%, while Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares, reducing his stake by 27.89%.
• Fastenal reported earnings exceeding consensus estimates, with a quarterly EPS of $0.29 and a revenue of $2.08 billion, marking an 8.6% increase year-over-year.

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.64.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens boosted their price target on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 target price on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.5%

FAST traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,660,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,357,095. The firm has a market cap of $52.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.69, a PEG ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.95. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $32.04 and a 52-week high of $48.10. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.22.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total value of $1,349,046.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total value of $768,861.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,987,750. This represents a 27.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,116 shares of company stock valued at $3,069,670. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its position in Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co increased its position in Fastenal by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 584 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its position in Fastenal by 481.9% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.