Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for Fastenal Cut by William Blair (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) – Equities research analysts at William Blair decreased their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Fastenal in a note issued to investors on Monday, May 6th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $0.52 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.53. The consensus estimate for Fastenal’s current full-year earnings is $2.12 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Fastenal’s FY2024 earnings at $2.13 EPS.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.68% and a return on equity of 33.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Fastenal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Five equities research 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.33.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $66.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $52.86 and a twelve month high of $79.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.29.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $832,472.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, Director Daniel L. Johnson acquired 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, with a total value of $229,073.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $832,472.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at $405,513,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 497.3% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,099,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,083,000 after buying an additional 2,580,478 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Fastenal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $195,459,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fastenal by 47.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,691,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,344,000 after buying an additional 1,505,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 112.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,679,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,763 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.