Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $50.63 and last traded at $50.27, with a volume of 5859149 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FAST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Fastenal from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Fastenal from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 price target on shares of Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.36.

Fastenal Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.59. The company has a market capitalization of $57.61 billion, a PE ratio of 48.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.95.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 14th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Fastenal had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Fastenal’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.62%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In other Fastenal news, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,662,414.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP William Joseph Drazkowski sold 6,842 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $333,000.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,747.98. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,230 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,364 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fastenal

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fastenal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $496,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Fastenal by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 10,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $753,000 after acquiring an additional 3,318 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,322,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,578,000 after buying an additional 966,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 87.2% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 774,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,667,000 after buying an additional 360,697 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.