Q2 2024 Earnings Forecast for Fastenal Issued By Zacks Research (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Fastenal in a research note issued on Monday, April 22nd. Zacks Research analyst S. Mukherjee now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $0.54 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.56. The consensus estimate for Fastenal’s current full-year earnings is $2.12 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Fastenal’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.52 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.12 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.55 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.58 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.55 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.27 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.58 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.42 EPS.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. 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 report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.67.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.3 %

FAST stock opened at $67.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $38.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.64.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.23%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total transaction of $387,333.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total transaction of $1,364,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,285. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,082 shares of company stock worth $2,584,060 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,830,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,780,000 after buying an additional 423,112 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Fastenal by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,582,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,957,000 after buying an additional 337,168 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Fastenal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,928,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,510,000 after buying an additional 1,043,529 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Fastenal by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,444,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,767,000 after buying an additional 413,572 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Fastenal by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,745,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,563,000 after buying an additional 957,091 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

About Fastenal

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.