Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01), RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.8 %

FAST stock opened at $70.45 on Friday. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $50.30 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $73.74 and its 200-day moving average is $65.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $2,331,196.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,369,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 105,682 shares of company stock worth $7,375,853 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 900,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,304,000 after acquiring an additional 31,814 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 178.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,054,000 after buying an additional 49,972 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,293,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Fastenal by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 262,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,401,000 after buying an additional 55,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kampmann Melissa S. purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,777,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

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.