Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Acquires $229,073.00 in Stock

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Director Daniel L. Johnson bought 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.38 per share, for a total transaction of $229,073.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,486.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of FAST stock opened at $67.57 on Friday. Fastenal has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 4.83. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.29.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 33.98% and a net margin of 15.68%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Fastenal’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fastenal will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fastenal by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 152 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. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 18,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on FAST. HSBC lifted their target price on Fastenal from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Fastenal from $71.00 to $66.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Fastenal from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.67.

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.