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

Key Points

• Fastenal shares reached a new 52-week high of $53.70, trading above both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.35 EPS and $2.46 billion in revenue; revenue rose 15.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with an average “Hold” rating and a $51.46 consensus price target, while Fastenal declared a $0.26 quarterly dividend yielding about 2%.

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $53.70 and last traded at $53.1690, with a volume of 330,364 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $47.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, October 15th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Fastenal from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.46.

Fastenal Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $60.41 billion, a PE ratio of 42.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $50.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.14.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 35.13% and a net margin of 15.62%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rita J. Heise sold 34,964 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 69.6% during the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 748 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company's stock.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.

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