Zacks Research Has Pessimistic View of Fastenal Q2 Earnings

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Fastenal in a report issued on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research analyst S. Mukherjee now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $0.30 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.31. The consensus estimate for Fastenal's current full-year earnings is $2.15 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Fastenal's Q3 2026 earnings at $0.31 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $1.30 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $86.00 price target on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.45.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.27. The company had a trading volume of 7,399,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,025,118. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 4.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.16. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $32.04 and a fifty-two week high of $44.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.64 billion, a PE ratio of 43.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.96.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 31.99% and a net margin of 15.13%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. Fastenal's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.00%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 100,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 565,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,200,378.16. This represents a 15.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 32,724 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total value of $1,349,046.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 193,200 shares of company stock worth $7,895,625. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Garde Capital Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 4,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 750 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Fastenal by 5,330.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in Fastenal by 481.9% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. 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.