Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $54.91 and last traded at $54.5810, with a volume of 790,999 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAST. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fastenal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Fastenal from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. DA Davidson set a $51.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Fastenal from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.46.

Fastenal Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 3.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.58 and a 200 day moving average of $47.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.81, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.66.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 35.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 83.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the second quarter valued at about $5,105,454,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,417,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Fastenal by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,561,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,395,000 after purchasing an additional 183,238 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,347,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,983,000 after purchasing an additional 50,335 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its holdings in Fastenal by 1,073.1% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 203,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,092,000 after purchasing an additional 186,381 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies headquartered in Winona, Minnesota. Founded in 1967, the company primarily serves businesses that require products for manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations.

Its product range includes threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, industrial and safety supplies, tools, electrical and plumbing products, material-handling equipment, and other related items. Fastenal also provides inventory-management solutions, including automated vending machines, customer-specific inventory programs and onsite services designed to improve product availability and purchasing efficiency.

Fastenal serves customers through a network of locations and sales channels across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and parts of Asia.