Fastenal (FAST) to Release Earnings on Thursday

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) is scheduled to release its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, April 11th. Analysts expect Fastenal to post earnings of $0.53 per share for the quarter. Persons interested in listening to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 15.72%. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Fastenal to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Fastenal Stock Performance

FAST opened at $75.90 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.63. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $50.30 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The stock has a market cap of $43.43 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 4.57, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is 77.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Fastenal from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $2,331,196.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 5,586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.34, for a total value of $387,333.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $2,331,196.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 105,682 shares of company stock valued at $7,375,853 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,336,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,555,700,000 after acquiring an additional 710,884 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.3% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 45,154,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,637,000 after buying an additional 138,257 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.9% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,676,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,259,000 after buying an additional 117,040 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 8.0% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,227,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,123,000 after buying an additional 681,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,092,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,243,000 after buying an additional 2,492,722 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.