Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 15.25%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share.

Fastenal Stock Performance

Shares of FAST traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.65. 3,135,946 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,100,503. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $75.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.43. The company has a market cap of $46.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.62, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.05. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $61.36 and a twelve month high of $84.88. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. This is a positive change from Fastenal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Fastenal's dividend payout ratio is currently 87.56%.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair raised shares of Fastenal from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research raised shares of Fastenal from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Fastenal from $86.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Fastenal from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.91.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Fastenal stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $496,000. 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.