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.
Fastenal Stock Up 0.5 %
Shares of Fastenal stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Monday, hitting $56.07. 134,776 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,440,139. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 3.71 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $50.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.36. The stock has a market cap of $32.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.22. Fastenal has a 12-month low of $45.68 and a 12-month high of $64.75.
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 13th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 15.70%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Fastenal Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 27th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. 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 2.21%. Fastenal's payout ratio is currently 69.27%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have commented on FAST. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Fastenal from $48.00 to $42.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fastenal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 14th. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $66.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut shares of Fastenal from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.86.
Insider Buying and Selling at Fastenal
In related news, Director Michael J. Ancius purchased 678 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $49.18 per share, for a total transaction of $33,344.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,265 shares in the company, valued at $1,390,072.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, EVP James C. Jansen acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $48.92 per share, with a total value of $48,920.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,280,529.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Ancius bought 678 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $49.18 per share, for a total transaction of $33,344.04. Following the purchase, the director now owns 28,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,390,072.70. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 2,736 shares of company stock valued at $131,599. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
