Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $54.91 and last traded at $54.5810, with a volume of 790,999 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $47.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.46.

Fastenal Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.93 and a quick ratio of 2.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.43. The stock has a market cap of $60.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.66.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 35.13% and a net margin of 15.62%. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Fastenal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,289,000. BankPlus Trust Department raised its position in Fastenal by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 67,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,363,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Fastenal by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 18,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $875,000 after buying an additional 2,315 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Fastenal by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. grew its position in Fastenal by 2.0% in the third quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 83,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Company Profile