Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $51.43, but opened at $47.51. Fastenal shares last traded at $49.8840, with a volume of 2,614,677 shares changing hands.

More Fastenal News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fastenal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings beat expectations: Fastenal reported adjusted earnings of $0.35 per share, up from $0.29 a year earlier and ahead of the $0.34 consensus estimate. Net income rose to $401.6 million, helped by expense leverage and stronger operating performance. Fastenal Beats Q3 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Sales and customer growth remained strong: Revenue increased 15.5% year over year to $2.46 billion, modestly above the $2.44 billion analyst estimate in company earnings reports. Contract wins, pricing, industrial demand and growth with larger customers supported sales. Onsite, digital and supply-chain solutions also continued to expand. Fastenal Reports 2026 Third Quarter Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and analyst support: Fastenal declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, equivalent to $1.04 annually and a yield of roughly 2%. Jefferies also raised its price target from $52 to $60, signaling greater confidence in the company’s earnings outlook. Fastenal Announces Dividend and Share Repurchase Activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed initial reaction: Fastenal was among stocks trading lower in the premarket, suggesting some investors were concerned that sales growth did not decisively exceed elevated expectations despite the earnings beat. The shares later moved higher as the profit improvement and revenue growth gained attention. Stocks Moving Lower in Wednesday’s Premarket Session
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation leaves limited room for disappointment: Fastenal trades at approximately 44 times earnings, with a PEG ratio above 3, making sustained sales growth and continued margin expansion important to support further upside.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on FAST. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.92.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.9%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.18 and a quick ratio of 2.21. The company has a market cap of $59.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.69.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.26 EPS for the current year.

Fastenal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rita Heise sold 34,964 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,749,948.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000. This trade represents a 63.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Ancius sold 3,000 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,810. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,105,454,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $859,310,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $410,919,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Fastenal in the second quarter valued at approximately $239,279,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the second quarter valued at approximately $230,169,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies serving businesses, contractors, manufacturers and other organizations. Its product offerings include fasteners such as bolts, nuts and screws, as well as safety equipment, tools, cutting tools, material-handling products, electrical and plumbing supplies, and maintenance and repair items.

The company sells products through a network of branch locations, onsite customer facilities, industrial vending machines and digital platforms.