Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.38 Per Share

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, November 20th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.38 per share on Wednesday, December 20th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. This is an increase from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35.

Fastenal has raised its dividend payment by an average of 12.5% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 24 years. Fastenal has a dividend payout ratio of 65.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Fastenal to earn $2.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 66.0%.

Fastenal Price Performance

FAST stock opened at $60.71 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.53, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.13. Fastenal has a twelve month low of $45.70 and a twelve month high of $61.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.76. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 12th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 15.57%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fastenal will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, COO Terry Modock Owen sold 63,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.24, for a total value of $3,625,123.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,680. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Fastenal news, COO Terry Modock Owen sold 63,332 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.24, for a total value of $3,625,123.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $400,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sheryl Ann Lisowski sold 17,296 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total value of $1,037,932.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $305,810.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 100,628 shares of company stock valued at $5,867,257. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Fastenal by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,874,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,417,000 after acquiring an additional 287,150 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 637.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 107,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,360,000 after acquiring an additional 93,196 shares in the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,782,000. Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $949,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV lifted its position in Fastenal by 230.3% during the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. 78.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FAST shares. HSBC initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research report on Friday, September 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Fastenal from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.71.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, 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, which are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.