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, which are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines. It also offers miscellaneous supplies and hardware, including pins, machinery keys, concrete anchors, metal framing systems, wire ropes, strut products, rivets, and related accessories. The company serves the manufacturing market comprising original equipment manufacturers; maintenance, repair, and operations; and non-residential construction market, which includes general, electrical, plumbing, sheet metal, and road contractors. It also serves farmers, truckers, railroads, mining companies, schools, and retail trades; and oil exploration, production, and refinement companies, as well as federal, state, and local governmental entities. The company distributes its products through a network of 3,209 in-market locations and 15 distribution centers. Fastenal Company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Winona, Minnesota.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Fastenal from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 14th. StockNews.com lowered Fastenal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 14th. Argus cut their price target on Fastenal from $66.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Fastenal from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Fastenal from $48.00 to $42.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.86.
Fastenal Stock Performance
Fastenal stock traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.95. 2,049,176 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,709,755. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $45.68 and a 12-month high of $64.75. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $50.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.41. The stock has a market cap of $30.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 3.71.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 13th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 15.70%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Fastenal will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.
Fastenal Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 27th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 26th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.27%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal
In other Fastenal news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski acquired 1,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.63 per share, for a total transaction of $49,334.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $237,626.48. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski bought 1,058 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.63 per share, for a total transaction of $49,334.54. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $237,626.48. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Ancius bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $51.00 per share, with a total value of $51,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,406,937. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 3,736 shares of company stock worth $182,599 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.
