William Blair Comments on Fastenal’s FY2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:FAST)

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) – Research analysts at William Blair increased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Fastenal in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, March 26th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $2.16 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.15. The consensus estimate for Fastenal’s current full-year earnings is $2.15 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Fastenal’s FY2025 earnings at $2.30 EPS.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 15.72%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. Fastenal’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Fastenal from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Fastenal from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.50.

Fastenal Price Performance

Shares of Fastenal stock opened at $77.14 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.18. Fastenal has a 52 week low of $50.30 and a 52 week high of $79.04. The company has a market capitalization of $44.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 4.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. This is a boost from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Fastenal’s payout ratio is presently 77.23%.

Insider Activity at Fastenal

In related news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total transaction of $1,633,607.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Fastenal news, VP Charles S. Miller sold 23,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.25, for a total value of $1,633,607.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 19,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $1,364,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,285. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 105,682 shares of company stock worth $7,375,853 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Fastenal by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. O Dell Group LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Fastenal by 131.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.