William Blair Equities Analysts Lower Earnings Estimates for Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) - Investment analysts at William Blair decreased their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Fastenal in a research report issued on Monday, May 6th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $2.31 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $2.32. The consensus estimate for Fastenal's current full-year earnings is $2.12 per share.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

Fastenal stock traded up $0.84 on Thursday, reaching $67.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,622,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,949,515. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. The company has a market cap of $38.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.06, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $52.86 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The business's fifty day moving average price is $72.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fastenal news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $417,285. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $724,486.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,940 shares in the company, valued at $417,285. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2,172.2% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Fastenal by 283.2% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 755 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. 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.