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

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) – Equities research analysts at William Blair cut their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Fastenal in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, April 11th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $0.53 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.55. The consensus estimate for Fastenal’s current full-year earnings is $2.15 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Fastenal’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.53 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.32 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.00.

Fastenal Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of FAST opened at $70.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 4.83 and a quick ratio of 2.27. Fastenal has a 1 year low of $50.30 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.98. The firm has a market cap of $40.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.05.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 131.7% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of Fastenal 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Reyne K. Wisecup sold 34,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles S. Miller sold 11,076 shares of the business’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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 105,682 shares of company stock valued at $7,375,853. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.23%.

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.