Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.40.

A number of analysts have recently commented on FAST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Fastenal from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Fastenal from $37.50 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Fastenal from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th.

Fastenal Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAST opened at $42.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 4.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Fastenal has a 52-week low of $30.68 and a 52-week high of $43.10. The stock has a market cap of $48.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.82.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Fastenal will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Anthony Paul Broersma sold 11,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total value of $452,065.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott Satterlee sold 19,340 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.76, for a total transaction of $768,861.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,987,750. The trade was a 27.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 193,200 shares of company stock valued at $7,895,625 over the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fastenal

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $873,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Fastenal by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,765,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,214,000 after buying an additional 886,999 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $338,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter worth about $409,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Fastenal in the 4th quarter valued at about $101,183,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.