Fastenal (FAST) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Friday

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) will release its earnings data before the market opens on Friday, October 11th. Analysts expect Fastenal to post earnings of $0.52 per share for the quarter. Investors that are interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 33.54% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. On average, analysts expect Fastenal to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Fastenal Trading Down 0.9 %

FAST opened at $70.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.01. Fastenal has a 12 month low of $53.97 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.57 and a 200 day moving average of $68.26.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,929,734.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 45,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $3,116,996.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares in the company, valued at $19,489,266.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel L. Florness sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.68, for a total value of $3,484,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,929,734.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FAST shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of Fastenal in a report on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Fastenal from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fastenal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.43.

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.