Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

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

Fastenal Trading Up 0.7 %

FAST opened at $74.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.02. Fastenal has a 1-year low of $61.36 and a 1-year high of $84.88.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued 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 yield of 2.30%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. HSBC lowered shares of Fastenal from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $56.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Fastenal from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.27.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 31,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $2,688,621.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,168,521. The trade was a 10.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rita J. Heise sold 10,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.67, for a total transaction of $845,670.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,553,400. This represents a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 74,660 shares of company stock valued at $6,211,126. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.