Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $46.37 and last traded at $45.97, with a volume of 834474 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FAST shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on Fastenal and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Fastenal from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fastenal from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.64.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.9%

The stock has a market cap of $53.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.52. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Fastenal's payout ratio is 84.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.06, for a total transaction of $4,106,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 565,036 shares in the company, valued at $23,200,378.16. The trade was a 15.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 11,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total value of $452,065.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 184,252 shares of company stock worth $7,627,735 over the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,317,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,685,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,479 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,615,915 shares of the company's stock worth $1,753,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,871 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,918,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,214,002,000 after acquiring an additional 234,713 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.7% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,418,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $652,875,000 after acquiring an additional 142,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,578,000 after acquiring an additional 966,629 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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