Fastenal Stock to Split on Thursday, May 22nd (NASDAQ:FAST)

Shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) are scheduled to split on Thursday, May 22nd. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, April 23rd. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, May 21st.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $83.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.33 and a 200 day moving average of $77.45. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $61.36 and a 1 year high of $84.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. William Blair raised Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.10.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $4,106,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 282,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,200,378.16. The trade was a 15.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,568 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.19, for a total transaction of $452,065.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 80,238 shares of company stock worth $6,546,578 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 5,330.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 481.9% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.