Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Fastenal's stock price reached a new 52-week high of $50.63, indicating strong market performance and trading activity with over 5.8 million shares exchanging hands.
• While several analysts maintain a cautious outlook with a consensus rating of "Hold," multiple price target adjustments have been made, reflecting growing interest in Fastenal's potential for future gains.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22, representing an annual yield of 1.8%, amidst a high payout ratio of 84.62%, suggesting a focus on returning capital to shareholders.

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $50.63 and last traded at $50.27, with a volume of 5859149 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.36.

Fastenal Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $56.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.95. The company's 50-day moving average price is $45.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.68. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364 over the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,265,119,000 after acquiring an additional 75,852,223 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Fastenal by 99.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company's stock worth $2,281,330,000 after acquiring an additional 27,107,520 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company's stock worth $1,931,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,380,022 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Fastenal by 103.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,506,141,000 after acquiring an additional 18,329,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 87.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 34,851,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,463,743,000 after purchasing an additional 16,308,254 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.