Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.30% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1,842,560.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ FAST opened at $76.08 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.93. The company has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $61.36 and a 12 month high of $84.88.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FAST. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.27.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total value of $706,392.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.