Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 33.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST opened at $74.77 on Friday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $61.36 and a fifty-two week high of $84.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.82. The stock has a market cap of $42.83 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 4.40.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.61%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.92, for a total transaction of $1,970,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Johnson sold 8,474 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $706,392.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $883,199.20. This trade represents a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126 in the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Fastenal in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.27.

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.