Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Fastenal's stock reached a new 52-week high of $49.94 during trading, reflecting strong market activity with over 6.87 million shares traded.
• Analysts are optimistic about Fastenal's future, with target price increases and ratings ranging from "equal weight" to "strong buy", indicating a favorable outlook.
• Despite the positive performance, the company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing a yield of 1.8% but with a payout ratio of 84.62%.

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $49.94 and last traded at $49.90, with a volume of 6879931 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on FAST. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird raised Fastenal from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research 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. Finally, Baird R W raised Fastenal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.36.

Fastenal Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.98, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's fifty day moving average is $44.83 and its 200-day moving average is $41.08.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 company 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 business's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 presently 84.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $333,000.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $583,747.98. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,834. This represents a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,230 shares of company stock worth $5,288,364. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $496,000. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,908 shares of the company's stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,829,635 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,393,000 after acquiring an additional 51,534 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 216.5% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 26,843 shares of the company's stock worth $1,930,000 after acquiring an additional 18,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 28,573 shares of the company's stock worth $2,055,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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