Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.8333.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $52.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $43.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 4.85. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $35.31 and a 1 year high of $50.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.01. The firm has a market cap of $50.25 billion, a PE ratio of 39.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.88.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 15.35%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 29th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 29th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.27%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, Director Scott Satterlee sold 15,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.19, for a total value of $705,449.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,209,500. This trade represents a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 36,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.34, for a total transaction of $1,747,792.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,893,600. This trade represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Fastenal by 103.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,169,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,265,119,000 after purchasing an additional 75,852,223 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 99.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,317,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,281,330,000 after buying an additional 27,107,520 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 103.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,995,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,830,000 after buying an additional 23,380,022 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $646,046,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Fastenal by 141.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,973,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,898,000 after buying an additional 9,370,909 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Fastenal

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.