Fastenal Stock Scheduled to Split on Thursday, May 22nd (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) shares are going to split before the market opens on Thursday, May 22nd. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, April 23rd. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, May 21st.

Fastenal Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ FAST opened at $78.56 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.08, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $61.36 and a 52-week high of $84.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 4.67.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wolfe Research raised Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Stephens upped their price objective on Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Fastenal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.10.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $4,106,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 282,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,200,378.16. This trade represents a 15.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.31, for a total transaction of $1,219,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,997 shares in the company, valued at $487,616.07. This trade represents a 71.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,238 shares of company stock valued at $6,546,578 in the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 5,330.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 481.9% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Fastenal during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

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.