Insider Buying: Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Buys 1,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Fastenal Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu purchased 1,000 shares of stock at an average price of $42.45, increasing his position by 12.50% to a total of 9,000 shares valued at approximately $382,050.
• The company reported a missed earnings estimate for the quarter, with earnings per share of $0.29 compared to the expected $0.30, but showed an 11.7% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Fastenal announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, scheduled for payment on November 25, representing an annualized yield of 2.1%.

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) Director Hsenghung Sam Hsu bought 1,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $42.45 per share, with a total value of $42,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $382,050. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST traded down $0.31 on Thursday, hitting $41.93. The company had a trading volume of 4,690,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,578,617. The company's fifty day moving average price is $48.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.95. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market cap of $48.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Fastenal Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays set a $45.00 price objective on Fastenal and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research restated 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 Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 103.5% during the second 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 period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Fastenal by 99.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,281,330,000 after purchasing an additional 27,107,520 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal by 103.4% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,931,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,380,022 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Fastenal by 103.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,984,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,506,141,000 after purchasing an additional 18,329,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company's stock.

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.

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