Equities Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for Fastenal (FAST)

Equities Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for Fastenal (FAST)

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) – Equities researchers at William Blair lowered their FY2020 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Fastenal in a research report issued on Tuesday, May 7th, Zacks Investment Research reports. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $2.94 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $2.98. William Blair has a “Market Perform” rating on the stock.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.52% and a net margin of 15.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on FAST. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Buckingham Research set a $32.50 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Raymond James set a $39.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.85.

Shares of NASDAQ FAST traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,071,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,647,768. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $23.68 and a 12 month high of $35.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.59 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 4.31 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FAST. Teachers Advisors LLC raised its position in Fastenal by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 876,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,828,000 after purchasing an additional 15,056 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Fastenal by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,082,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,830,000 after purchasing an additional 62,287 shares during the period. Standard Life Aberdeen plc raised its position in Fastenal by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Standard Life Aberdeen plc now owns 111,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,471,000 after purchasing an additional 25,221 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Fastenal by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,444,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,786,000 after purchasing an additional 11,185 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc raised its position in Fastenal by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc now owns 32,459,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,883,293,000 after purchasing an additional 311,099 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.36% of the company’s stock.

In other Fastenal news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.75, for a total value of $1,415,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,771,533.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 9,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.22, for a total transaction of $588,640.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $607,906.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 163,470 shares of company stock valued at $11,485,007 in the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 23rd. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.15%.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers fasteners, and other industrial and construction supplies under the Fastenal name. The company’s fastener products include threaded fasteners, such as bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers, which are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.

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